Waste eggshell-derived dual-functional CuO/ZnO/Eggshell nanocomposites: (photo)catalytic reduction and antibacterial activities

Transforming biological waste into high value-added materials is of significant importance to environmental protection and sustainable development. Eggshell as a type of naturally-occurring organic-inorganic biomaterial featuring unique hierarchically porous structure widely investigated in the field of catalysis, adsorption as well as osteogenesis. Herein, CuO/ZnO/Eggshell (CZ/ES) composites were rationally designed by using waste eggshell as template. After a simple deposition and calcination process, CuO and ZnO nanoparticles were evenly distributed over the surface of CaCO3. The (photo)catalytic activity and antibacterial CZ/ES nanocomposite exhibited a superior catalytic reduction and antibacterial activity. The catalytic reduction reaction rate constant Kapp of 4-nitrophenol under the irradiation of UV-vis light was calculated to be approximately five times higher than that obtained in the absence of light irradiation. CZ/ES nanocomposite exhibited significant antibacterial property for the destruct...