Fabrication of multifunctional TANI/Cu₂O/Ag nanocomposite for environmental abatement

During past decade, the ternary nanocomposite is ubiquitous in nanotechnology. Herein, a simple fabrication of cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles into Tetraaniline (TANI) matrix by in situ-polymerization approach to attain Tetramer-Metal Oxide-Metal (TANI/Cu₂O/Ag, shortly TCA) ternary composite was reported firstly. The synthesized materials were further characterized by a series of instrumental techniques to understand its structure, morphology and thermal properties. This nanocomposite showed promising applications in wastewater treatment by the testing of photocatalytic activity over the pararosaniline hydrochloride (PRA) dye degradation under visible light radiations, removal of Cadmium ion (Cd²⁺) by adsorption, corrosion resistance and antibacterial activity against both gram positive and gram negative bacterial strains. The obtained results of TCA compared with the pure TANI and binary nanocomposite (TANI/Cu₂O) declared that the TCA composite is excellent material to solve the environmental issues due to lesser bandgap energy, visible light respond, high absorptivity, and long-life excitation.