Synthesis of ultra small iron oxide and doped iron oxide nanostructures and their antimicrobial activities

摘要

Nanostructures of iron oxide and doped iron oxide with cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) havebeen prepared by wet chemical methods using sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) as capping agent.X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) resultsshowed that the nanostructures were crystalline with average crystallite size around 20 nm. Thescanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirmedthe granular shape of the nanostructures with ultra small size. The doping was confirmedin the XRD patterns and was well supported by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).Band gap for iron oxide nanoparticles was found to be 2.2 eV and on doping the band gap foundto be increased up to 2.5 eV. Ultra violet-visible (UV–Vis) measurements and blue shift of theoptical band gap compliments the ultra small size of nanostructures as suggested by XRD, SEMand TEM studies. Interestingly, few of the compounds showed promising antifungal activity andmight be used for antifungal treatment against fungal infection in future.