Characterization and antibacterial activity of Ti doped ZnO nanorods prepared by hydrazine assisted wet chemical route

Abstract

In this study, a simple hydrazine assisted wet chemical method was used to prepare pure and Ti doped ZnO nanorods . The structural properties of pure and Ti doped ZnO nanorods were investigated by XRD analysis. Williamson-Hall (W–H) method was used to determine the crystallite size , strain and dislocation density of the samples. TEM analysis revealed rod like morphology for Ti doped ZnO nanoparticles . The presence of elements such as Zn, Ti and O of the doped sample was confirmed by EDS. XPS spectrum suggests that Ti 4+ ions well substitute Zn 2+ ions in doped nanocrystal . The Raman study further established the formation of ZnO wurtzite structure in both pure and Ti doped ZnO nanorods. The band gap of pure and Ti doped ZnO nanorods were estimated by the Tauc relation as 3.03 eV and 2.91 eV respectively. From the PL spectra, it is observed that the intensity of the polychromatic defect emissions of Ti doped ZnO nanorods is higher than pure ZnO, with some additional defect emissions. The antibacterial activity of Ti doped ZnO nanorods slightly decreased against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria when compared to pure ZnO. • Synthesis of pure and Ti doped ZnO nanorods by a facile hydrazine assisted wet chemical method. • Confirmation of substitution of Ti 4+ ions into Zn 2+ ions in doped nanocrystal from XPS spectrum. • The band gap of pure and Ti doped ZnO nanorods were estimated by the Tauc relation as 3.03 eV and 2.91 eV. • Intensity of the polychromatic defect emissions of Ti doped ZnO nanorods is higher than pure ZnO. • The antibacterial activity of Ti doped ZnO nanorods is slightly lower than pure ZnO and higher than certain doped ZnO nanostructures.