Impacts of hematite, bunsenite and maghemite impurities on the physical and antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles

Abstract

Nanometric silver nanoparticles AgNPs, accompanied by different impurities hematite, bunsenite and maghemite, were synthesized using a rapid and a facile combustion technique. A single-phase cubic spinel structure was obtained from X-ray diffraction analyses (XRD) for AgNPs accompanied by a small amount of impurities AgNPs–hematite–maghemite (Ag–HM) and AgNPs–hematite–bunsenite–maghemite (Ag–HBM). Resulting from the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses, the formation of nanoparticle size was clarified with agglomeration. As a result from the magnetic measurements, the saturation magnetization (Ms) of three impurities, accompanied by AgNPs (Ag–HBM), was larger by 6.02-fold than that of two impurities accompanied by AgNPs (Ag–HM). On the contrary, Ag–HM was smaller by 2.6-fold than that of Ag–HBM. During an antimicrobial study, Ag–HBM showed stronger antibacterial activities than that of Ag–HM. Moreover, Ag–HBM showed strong activities against Candida albicans yeast; however, Ag–HM had no activity against the tested fungi. Thus, the dramatic recommendation of Ag–HBM nanoparticles could be used as an effective antibacterial and antifungal nanomaterials.