An Eco-Friendly Approach for the Synthesis of Ni/NiO/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite Using Cleome Gynandra Leaf Extract for Biomedical and Photocatalytic Applications

Abstract

The (Ni/NiO)[Formula: see text]/g-C3N4 nanocomposite was green synthesized using Cleome gynandra via sol–gel method. The photocatalytic dye decomposition, antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of the nanocomposite were studied and compared with those of (Ni/NiO)[Formula: see text] and g-C3N4. The nanocomposite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of 97% compared to (Ni/NiO)[Formula: see text] (63%) and g-C3N4 (80%) due to the synergistic effect between both the composite partners. The nanocomposite, (Ni/NiO)[Formula: see text]/g-C3N4 showed notable antioxidant activity in DPPH (IC[Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL with 87.06% of inhibition at 500[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL) and ABTS (IC[Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL with 88.40 % of inhibition at 500[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL) radical scavenging assays. The green synthesized nanocomposite also exhibited significant antidiabetic activity in [Formula: see text]-amylase and [Formula: see text]-glucosidase enzyme inhibition assays with the IC[Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL, respectively. The XRD and SEM analyses confirmed the nanocomposite formation of (Ni/NiO)[Formula: see text]/g-C3N4. The results showed that the green synthesized (Ni/NiO)[Formula: see text]/g-C3N4 has desirable dye degradation, antidiabetic and antioxidant properties. This paper presents the results of the remarkable photocatalytic dye decomposition, antidiabetic and antioxidant properties of the nanocomposite (Ni/NiO)[Formula: see text]/g-C3N4 synthesized via an eco-friendly greeny way using Cleome gynandra leaf extract which may be the first report of this kind utilizing this plant.