Synthesis, structural, photoluminescence, ultraviolet blocking and antibacterial performances of Ba-doped ZnO nanostructures

Abstract

In the current experimental work, pure ZnO and Ba-doped ZnO nanorods have been prepared by implementing a facile wet chemical technique. XRD study reveals the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite phase of pure ZnO and Ba-doped ZnO nanorods. Interestingly, Ba-doped ZnO nanorods show very good absorption in the UVA (93% at 351 nm), UVB (90% at 300 nm) and UVC (61% at 220 nm) regions. The obtained results of the UV–visible absorbance study validate in such a way that the Ba-doped ZnO nanorods could be a better bet to be utilized as a UV blocker for the next generation of UV shielding materials. The Photoluminescence spectrum of Ba-doped ZnO nanoparticles reveals widespread UV–Visible bands between 350 and 600 nm. Also, the zone of inhibition is found to be 15 nm for both bacterial strains S.aures and E.coli and implies excellent antibacterial activity. Interestingly, the outcome as observed in the zone of inhibition towards S. aureus and E. coli in the present study is found to be higher than many doped ZnO and Ba-doped metal oxide nanostructures. The observed experimental results via the aforementioned characterizations imply that the synthesized samples possess the potential ingredients required for the applications related to the field of health care.

Keywords

• Wet chemical synthesis
• Doping
• Raman spectrum
• Photoluminescence
• UV blocker
• Band gap