synthesis of quasi-hexagonal ag/nico2o4 nanosheets and their photocatalytic and antibacterial properties

The precursors of nico2o4 and ag/nico2o4 composite nanosheets with different ag contents were prepared via a hydrothermal procedure. the final nico2o4 and ag/nico2o4 quasi-hexagonal nanosheets with different ag contents were prepared by calcining each precursor. the as-synthesized samples were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. the photocatalytic performance of the resultant samples was investigated with assistance of h2o2 under irradiation of visible light by using p-nitrophenol and methyl blue as pollutant target, respectively. the results revealed that the photocatalytic activity of ag/nico2o4 nanosheets increased with increasing ag content from 0 to 5%, and the ag/nico2o4 composite with 4 and 5% all exhibited higher catalytic activity for degrading p-nitrophenol and methyl blue, respectively. the antibacterial activity of nico2o4 and composite ag/nico2o4 nanosheets to several common gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria was examined. the results demonstrated that the ag/nico2o4 composites displayed excellent activity even with a low ag content, but nico2o4 exhibited weak antibacterial activity.