Experimental and Computational Study of Zr and CNC-Doped MnO2 Nanorods for Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activity

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), MnO2, CNC-doped MnO2, and Zr/CNC-doped MnO2 were prepared with a hydrothermal method to assess their photocatalytic and antibacterial properties. Various characterizations were undertaken to determine the phase composition, the existence of functional units, optical characteristics, elemental analysis, surface topography, and microstructure of the prepared materials. Sample crystallinity was improved, whereas a decrease in crystallite size was observed with increasing amounts of dopants. Incorporation of dopants (CNC and Zr) into MnO2 instigated a transformation in morphology from nanoclusters to nanorods with different diameters. Furthermore, photocatalytic activity experiments indicated a more effective degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye with CNC-doped MnO2 and Zr/CNC-codoped MnO2 while enhancing the bacterial efficacy for both G +ve and G −ve. Density functional theory was utilized to model the structures and elucidate their bonding and charge transfer mechanisms. The Zr/CNC-MnO2 system showed charge depletion around Mn atoms, while charges were observed to accumulate around oxygen atoms.