Influence of Metal (Al, Mg, Sm, and Cu) Dopants on Structural, Optical, Magnetic, and Antimicrobial Properties of ZnO Nanopowders Synthesized by Coprecipitation Method

Abstract

Pure and metal‐doped ZnO nanopowders with composition formula M0.04Zn0.96O (where M=Al, Mg, Sm and Cu) have been synthesized using the co‐precipitation method. The structural characterization of the synthesized powders was investigated using X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and the results confirm the hexagonal wurtzite structure without any additional phases. The change in structural parameters of ZnO with dopants was estimated using X‐ray peak profile analysis. The structural characterization was further analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The size and morphology of the synthesized powders were analyzed by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE‐SEM), which also evidences the formation of uniform nanostructures with quasi‐spherical and hexagonal shapes. Moreover, the elemental composition of these metal‐doped nanostructures is determined by EDX measurements. UV‐Vis. spectroscopy is used to determine the energy band gap of ZnO by adding metal ion dopants. A vibration sample magnetometer (VSM) was employed to measure the samples’ magnetic properties, and dopants were found to induce distinct magnetic behaviors in ZnO. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized powders was measured using the well diffusion method. It was observed that the introduction of dopant metals led to increased microbial activity. Among the doped ZnO variants, Al‐doped ZnO exhibited the highest level of microbial activity compared to pure ZnO and other samples.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.