Activated graphite carbon-assisted cadmium-doped copper oxide nano catalyst for accelerated photocatalysis and...

A novel activated graphite carbon (AGC)-assisted Cd-doped CuO (AGC-Cd@CuO) nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via a facile co-precipitation method, representing a new strategy to enhance photocatalytic and antibacterial performance. XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, FE-SEM, XPS, EPR, HR-TEM, BET and UV-DRS, and Urbach energy analysis have been used in order to examine the properties of the obtained nanocomposites. The novelty of this work lies in the synergistic integration of AGC as a conductive matrix with Cd-doped CuO, enhancing visible-light absorption and suppressing rapid electron-hole recombination, which are key limitations of pristine CuO. The improved photocatalytic performance is attributed to efficient charge separation and interfacial electron transfer facilitated by AGC, along with Cd-induced band structure modulation. The AGC-Cd@CuO nanocomposite exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet (CV) dye under UV irradiation compared to pristine CuO and Cd@CuO. It also demonstrated superior antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. The reduced Urbach energy indicates decreased structural disorder and improved optical properties, contributing to the overall performance. Overall, this study reports, for the first time, an AGC-assisted Cd@CuO nanocomposite with enhanced dual functionality in photocatalytic and antibacterial applications, offering strong potential for environmental remediation.