Synthesis, Structural and Antibacterial Activity of Aluminium and Nickel Doped ZnO Nanoparticles by Sol-gel Method
S. R. Brintha *
Department of Chemistry, Annai Velankanni College, M. S. University, Tirunelveli, Tholayavattam, K. K. District, Tamil Nadu, India
M. Ajitha
Department of Chemistry, Annai Velankanni College, M. S. University, Tirunelveli, Tholayavattam, K. K. District, Tamil Nadu, India
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Nickel and aluminium doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel method and their structural, morphological, and antibacterial activity were studied. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) studies reveals that all synthesized ZnO nanoparticles have hexagonal wurtzite structure and Al doping decreases the crystallite size. Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) investigation reveals that the surface morphology of zinc oxide nanoparticles is significantly modified by doping with Ni and Al. Energy Dispersive analysis of X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) indicates that the dopants Ni and Al are successfully incorporated in the ZnO nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) were recorded to analyse the effect of Ni and Al doping on the vibrational frequencies of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The antibacterial activities of ZnO nanoparticles, Al doped ZnO nanoparticles and Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles were examined using the disc diffusion method against four pathogenic bacteria.
Keywords: Dopant, nanoparticle, SEM, sol-gel process, XRD, zinc oxide