Effects of ZnO nanoparticles on the antifungal performance of Fe₃O₄/ZnO nanocomposites prepared from natural sand

Abstract

In the present study, the eco-friendly and economical methods have been developed by employing natural iron sand as a main precursor to create Fe3O4/ZnO nanocomposites (NCs). The formation of Fe3O4/ZnO NCs was confirmed using XRD, synchrotron-based SAXS, FTIR spectroscopy, and SEM. The XRD results revealed that the Fe3O4 and ZnO crystallised spinel cubic and hexagonal wurtzite structures. The SAXS results exposed the construction of fractal dimension with the values of 3.20–3.70, which indicated a compact structure in 3-dimensions. The SEM images showed that the morphology of the samples tended to agglomerate in nanometric size. The FTIR spectra proved the presence of the Fe–O and Zn–O bonds as the main components of the NCs. The UV–vis spectroscopy analysis revealed that the bandgap energy of the Fe3O4/ZnO NCs ranged from 2.244 to 3.533 eV. Furthermore, the Fe3O4/ZnO NCs demonstrated superparamagnetic behaviour with the blocking temperature below 212 K, and their saturation magnetisation increased with increasing Fe3O4 content. Interestingly, all samples demonstrated excellent inhibitory performance against C. albicans, which indicates that the Fe3O4/ZnO NCs synthesised by eco-friendly and economical methods from natural iron sand for the first time are novel candidates for use as high-performance antifungal agents.

Effect of ZnO Mass on Nanostructure, Magnetic and Optical Properties of Fe2O3/MWCNT/ZnO Nanocomposites

“…The ZnO's peaks are observed at 31.8 o (0 1 0), 34.5 o (0 0 2), 36.3 o (0 1 1), 47.6 o (0 1 2), 56.7 o (1 1 0), 62.9 o (0 1 3), 66.5 o (0 2 0), 68.1 o (1 1 2), and 69.2 o (0 2 1). Similar results have been reported in a previous works [20]. The success of Fe2O3/MWCNT/ZnO nanocomposite preparation is marked by the appearance of the Fe2O3 and ZnO peaks, with ZnO peaks that tend to increase in line with the increase of ZnO mass.…”

“…It was started by the functionalization process with nitric acid [1,6]. It was followed with ZnO preparation using the sol-gel method following the stages in our previous studies [20]. In the third step, the Fe2O3/MWCNT nanocomposite was prepared using 20 grams of FeCl3.6H2O solved into 40 ml of distilled water, and stirred using a magnetic stirrer at 520 rpm.…”

“…ZnO nanoparticle is a semiconductor material with a high dielectric constant, stable toward heat, and excellent electrical conductivity [19]. In the biomedical field, ZnO carries a number of excellent features in a number of applications, such as antimicrobial and drug delivery agents [20], because of its non-allergic, non-toxic, and non-irritating characteristic [24,25]. Besides, ZnO is also commonly used in sensors, photocatalysts, supercapacitors, and other applications due to its wide bandgap, light, low-cost, and easily produced [26,27].…”

Smart Fe3O4@ZnO Core-Shell Nanophotosensitizers Potential for Combined Chemo and Photodynamic Skin Cancer Therapy Controlled by UVA Radiation

“…Despite the saturation of Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO-Bru NCs decreased to 33.56 International Journal of Nanomedicine 2022:17 https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S372377 DovePress 3389 Dovepress emu•g -1 due to the loading of Bru in comparison with the 41.50 emu•g -1 of Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO, their magnetic response was not influenced because they were gathered together within 5 min under an external magnetic field (Figure 2D insert), which indicated a great magnetic response ability. In consideration of other nano biomaterials based on Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO, 20,21 it can be inferred that Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO-Bru NCs had good magnetic separating and targeting properties. They, therefore, have the potential of magnetic targeting.…”

Structural, Morphological and Optical Properties of Zinc Oxide Nanorods prepared by ZnO seed layer Annealed at Different Oxidation Temperature

“…This metal oxide offers several remarkable properties such as facile synthesis, high surface to volume ratio, relatively low toxicity as well as excellent chemical and mechanical stability despite being abundant in nature [1]. ZnO is classified as a semiconductor in group II-VI having a wide and direct bandgap of 3.37 eV with a large exciton binding energy of 60 meV which make it find its way in a broad range of applications such as in optoelectronics [2][3][4], sensors [5,6] and biomedical applications [7][8][9]. Recently, ZnO in its one-dimensional (1D) form such as nanorod structure has attracted considerable attention among researchers.…”