Reusable sunlight activated photocatalyst Ag₃PO₄ and its significant antibacterial activity

A simple and surfactant free soft chemical approach is adopted for the successful synthesis of Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles (NPs) at room temperature. The obtained Ag₃PO₄ NPs are nearly spherical in shape with a size of 250 ± 50 nm. These NPs are highly efficient for the degradation of three organic dyes (methylene blue, rhodamine B and methyl orange) under four different types of light sources. In this case, the superior photocatalytic activity is mainly driven by singlet oxygen radicals and it is confirmed through the electron spin resonance (ESR) spin trapping technique, using several quenchers/sources. Notably, these NPs have the ability to absorb large portion of solar spectrum and therefore it displays higher efficiency under sunlight as compared to UV-C light and a 60 W household compact fluorescence lamp (CFL). Furthermore, these NPs exhibit excellent colloidal stability and recycling capability for the degradation of dyes. In addition, it possesses significant antibacterial activity with complete inhibition of bacterial pathogen, Escherichia coli at a very low concentration (0.01 mg/mL) after a mere 15 min of incubation time. The inhibition of bacterial growth is also suggested from the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in E. coli by fluorescence microscopy. Thus, these NPs may provide a potential outcome for the environmental remediation. - Graphical abstract: Schematic representation of the mechanism involved in photodegradation of organic dyes and inhibition of bacterial growth using Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles. - Highlights: • Excellent catalytic activity for dyes degradation under different light sources. • Mechanism involving catalyst mediated ROS generation in photocatalysis suggested. • Good recycling capability of Ag₃PO₄ even after the fifth cycles. • Extraordinary antibacterial activity of Ag₃PO₄ after a very short incubation time. • Detection of intracellular ROS in bacterial cells by fluorescence microscopy.