Graphene oxide/chitosan-layered double hydroxides for dye decolorization, oxygen evolution reaction and bactericidal inactivation

In this research, graphene oxide (GO) and chitosan (CS) modified zinc/Aluminum (ZnAl) layered doubled hydroxide (LDH) were synthesized via co-precipitation. The research objective was to suppress the electron/hole pair recombination rate of pristine ZnAl and enhance the multifunctional effectiveness of catalytic degradation of dye, oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and antibacterial activity. Additionally, the influence of dopants on structure, morphology, and optical characteristics was characterized by advanced techniques. XRD revealed the rhombohedral structure and enhancement in crystallite size was observed with doping. TEM micrographs endorsed regularly aligned two-dimensional nanosheets with the layered assembly of GO/CS-ZnAl. Furthermore, catalysis results suggested an optimum rhodamine B (RhB) dye degradation rate of 92.0 % in a basic medium, which signifies its potential application in various environmental decontamination. Among all samples, 3 % GO/CS-ZnAl LDH revealed a lower overpotential, the lowest Tafel slope, and minimal R_ct value, suggesting the highest OER activity. Moreover, the docking studies of CS-ZnAl LDH and GO/CS-ZnAl nanocomposites bactericidal agents were conducted to investigate their potential inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) gyrase enzymes in S. aureus.