The ultrafine ZnFe2O4, MnFe2O4, and cation deficit Zn−Mn ferrites were obtained by thermal decomposition of appropriate mixed complex compounds with acetylacetone (2,4-pentadione) ligands ([M(AA) x ]) at 500 °C. In ZnFe2O4 cation distribution is partially inverse with 14% of Zn2+ ions at octahedral 16d sites, while MnFe2O4 is a normal spinel. Cation distribution in nonstoichiometric (Zn,Mn,Fe)3 - δO4 (δ = 0.18−0.30) is found to be (Zn x Mny□ε)8a[Fez□ν]16d, with a random distribution of vacancies. Nonstoichiometry in Zn−Mn ferrites is accompanied by a cation valence change, i.e., partial oxidation of Mn2+ to Mn4+. Microstructure size-strain analysis shows isotropic X-ray line broadening due to the crystallite size effect and anisotropic X-ray line broadening due to the crystallite strain effect. In binary ferrites anisotropic X-ray line broadening due to the strain effect is higher in ZnFe2O4 than in MnFe2O4, while in ternary cation-deficient Zn−Mn ferrites it decreases as the vacancy concentration δ increases.

This study explores different mechanisms of antimicrobial action by designing hybrid nanomaterials that provide a new approach in the fight against resistant microbes. Here, we present a cheap copper-polyaniline (Cu-PANI) nanocomposite material with enhanced antimicrobial properties, prepared by simple in situ polymerization method, when polymer and metal nanoparticles are produced simultaneously. The copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) are uniformly dispersed in the polymer and have a narrow size distribution (dav = 6 nm). We found that CuNPs and PANI act synergistically against three strains, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans, and resulting nanocomposite exhibits higher antimicrobial activity than any component acting alone. Before using the colony counting method to quantify its time and concentration antimicrobial activity, different techniques (UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscope, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry) were used to identify the optical, structural, and chemical aspects of the formed Cu-PANI nanocomposite. The antimicrobial activity of this nanocomposite shows that the microbial growth has been fully inhibited; moreover, some of the tested microbes were killed. Atomic force microscopy revealed dramatic changes in morphology of tested cells due to disruption of their cell wall integrity after incubation with Cu-PANI nanocomposite.

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