Preparation of Zinc oxide nanofibers and their photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial properties

Currently, the issues of organic wastewater pollution and bacterial contamination are increasingly causing social concern. In this study, ZnO nanofibers (ZnO NFs) were prepared using zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn (CH ₃ COO) ₂ ) as the zinc source and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the template by electrospinning combined with calcination process. The average diameter of the zincite phase ZnO NFs was approximately 68 ± 12 nm demonstrated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray polycrystalline diffractometer (XRD). Results demonstrated that the degradation rate of the prepared ZnO NFs was 97.97% for Rhodamine B (Rh B) after 2 hours of UV irradiation, and the antibacterial rates were 95.06% and 98.41% against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), respectively. In addition, the potential mechanism of ZnO NFs photocatalytic degradation of Rh B was proposed through photocatalytic active substance trapping experiments. In conclusion, this study provides a convenient approach for the development of nanomaterials for dye degradation and antibacterial nanomaterials.