Efficient antimicrobial activity for combustion-derived CeO2 quantum dots

Abstract

Low-dimensional materials (Ld-Ms) are a novel class of nanomaterials which have attracted researchers and scientists. These materials are used in extensive applications due to their unique physicochemical, optical, magnetic, and electronic properties. The major health concern in this era is the increase of multidrug-resistant pathogens. Recent breakthroughs in biomedical advancements have identified Ld-Ms as next-generation antimicrobial drugs. Especially, quantum dots owing to their innately small size and high structural stability represent one of the promising antimicrobial agents. In this work, CeO2 quantum dots (CeQDs) were synthesized via a novel solution combustion method using various fuels at an optimum temperature of 350 °C. Different oxidizer-to-fuel ratios were considered (fuel low, stoichiometric, and fuel high) for the synthesis. The influences of various fuels like urea, starch, malic acid, and oxalic acid on the structural, morphological, and size of the prepared CeQDs are investigated and reported. The average particle sizes of solution combustion synthesized CeQDs using various fuels were less than twice the exciton Bohr radius of CeO2. The optical band gaps of all the CeQDs fabricated were approximately equal to the experimental band gap value of 3.19 eV. The surface morphologies of CeQDs were tailored by the self-propagating method during the synthesis. Further, the therapeutic potential of CeQDs was evaluated against microbial stains which showed significant inhibitory activity.