Antimicrobial properties of heterojunction BiSnSbO6-ZnO composites in wastewater treatment

Abstract BiSnSbO6-ZnO composite photocatalytic material with type II heterojunction structure was synthesized by a simple solid-phase sintering method, it was characterized by XRD, UV-vis and PT methods. The photocatalytic antibacterial experiments were carried out under LED light irradiation. The experimental results showed that the photocatalytic antibacterial properties of BiSnSbO6-ZnO composites against bacteria and fungi were significantly stronger than those of single BiSnSbO6 and ZnO. Under light conditions, the antibacterial efficiencies of 500 mg/L BiSnSbO6-ZnO composites against E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa reached 99.63%, 100% and 100% for 6 h, 4 h and 4 h, respectively. The best antibacterial concentration of BiSnSbO6-ZnO composite against eukaryotic microorganism Candida albicans was 250 mg/L, and the antibacterial efficiency reached the highest 63.8% at 6 h. Antibacterial experiments were carried out on domestic livestock and poultry wastewater, which showed that the BiSnSbO6-ZnO composite photocatalytic material has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against bacteria, and the antibacterial effect has species differences. Through the MTT experiment, it is proved that the prepared BiSnSbO6-ZnO composite photocatalytic material has no toxicity at the experimental concentration. According to the free radical scavenging experiment and SEM observation of the morphological changes of the bacteria after light treatment, the prepared BiSnSbO6-ZnO composite photocatalytic material can generate active species ·OH, h+ and e− through light irradiation to achieve the purpose of sterilization, where e− play a major role, indicating that the BiSnSbO6-ZnO composite photocatalytic material has broad application prospects in the actual antibacterial field.