Study of kinetics of photocatalysis, bacterial inactivation and •OH scavenging activity of electrochemically synthesized Se4+ doped ZnS nanoparticles

•Electrochemically synthesized Se4+:ZnS nanoparticle has flower-like structure with size 10–30 nm.•Electrochemically generated Se4+:ZnS nanoparticles has 90–98% photo-catalytic efficiency in just 25 min.•Anti-bacterial activity of Se4+:ZnS is 5–8 times better compared to Chloramphenicol.•The flipping of selenium from Se+4 to Se+6 and vice versa facilitates the abstraction of •OH.•A linear correlation is drawn between [•OH] concentration and biological activity.

Se4+ doped ZnS nanoparticles is synthesized by electrochemical method which is capable of producing flower-like nanoparticles in a size range about 10–30 nm, under ambient conditions. UV–VIS spectra discusses the band gap of Se4+ doped ZnS to be 2.1 eV which is much lower than that of commercial ZnS (3.68 eV). The photocatalytic activity was evaluated on the degradation of indigo carmine dye both under ultraviolet (UV) and sunlight illumination which follows first-order kinetics. It was found that Se doped ZnS photocatalyst showed much higher photodegradation efficiency (6–8 times) than commercial ZnS. A linear correlation is achieved for photo-degradation and inactivation of bacteria as both are ROS dependent phenomena. Hydroxyl radical scavenging ability of these particles was evaluated. The impact of enhanced ROS generation was consistent with higher photocatalytic dye degradation and antibacterial activity of Se4+ doped ZnS nanoparticles.

Graphical abstractSe4+ doped ZnS nanoparticles is synthesized by electrochemical method which is capable of producing flower-like nanoparticles in a size range about 10–30 nm, under ambient conditions. UV–VIS spectra discusses the band gap of Se4+ doped ZnS to be 2.1 eV which is much lower than that of commercial ZnS (3.68 eV). The photocatalytic activity was evaluated on the degradation of indigo carmine dye both under ultraviolet (UV) and sunlight illumination which follows first-order kinetics. It was found that Se doped ZnS photocatalyst showed much higher photodegradation efficiency (6–8 times) than commercial ZnS. A linear correlation is achieved for photo-degradation and inactivation of bacteria as both are ROS dependent phenomena. Hydroxyl radical scavenging ability of these particles was evaluated. The impact of enhanced ROS generation was consistent with higher photocatalytic dye degradation and antibacterial activity of Se4+ doped ZnS nanoparticles.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (155 K)Download as PowerPoint slide