Silver and carbon nitride-doped nickel selenide for effective dye decolorization and bactericidal activity: in silico docking study

Abstract

In this study, nickel selenide (NiSe), Ag/C₃N₄–NiSe, and C₃N₄/Ag–NiSe nanowires (NWs) were synthesized via coprecipitation. The prepared NWs were employed for the degradation of the rhodamine B (RhB) dye in the absence of light using sodium borohydride (NaBH₄), bactericidal activity against pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and in silico docking study to investigate the D-alanine ligase (DDl) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) gyrase of S. aureus. NWs demonstrate a catalytic degradation efficiency of 69.58% toward RhB in a basic medium. The percentage efficacy of the synthesized materials was evaluated as 19.12–42.62% at low and 36.61–49.72% at high concentrations against pathogenic S. aureus. Molecular docking results suggest that both C₃N₄/Ag-doped NiSe and Ag/C₃N₄-doped NiSe possess inhibitory activities toward DDl and DNA gyrase of S. aureus, which coincides with the in vitro bactericidal activity. Based on the research outcomes, the synthesized NWs show potential as an effective agent for water purification and resistance to microbial contaminants.