TiO 2 loaded on glycidol functionalized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) nanobiocomposite film for photocatalytic and antibacterial activities.

The rapid acceleration of industrialization and urbanization has exacerbated water pollution, which is primarily caused by the presence of highly toxic, non-biodegradable contaminants in industrial waste and effluents. In response to this urgent issue, a novel nanobiocomposite film with titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ) loaded onto a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-18 mol% 3-hydroxyhexanoate) (18PHBH) matrix was developed to serve as an effective dual-function material with photocatalytic and antibacterial properties. Through Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR), Diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible (DRUV-Vis), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, the physicochemical properties of the TiO ₂ /Gly/18PHBH nanobiocomposite film were exhaustively characterized, revealing effective TiO ₂ loading and uniform distribution on the film's surface. The film exhibited extraordinary photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye, with the 5TiO ₂ /Gly/18PHBH film demonstrating the greatest efficiency. In addition, antibacterial testing revealed that the film was effective against 99.8 % of Staphylococcus aureus and 96.9 % of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These results demonstrate the potential of polyhydroxyalkanoate-based films as exceptional nanoparticle matrices and position the 5TiO ₂ /Gly/18PHBH film as a versatile candidate for applications in photocatalysis and antibacterial interventions, providing innovative solutions to critical environmental challenges.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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