Investigation of the physical properties and antibacterial activity of various ferrite, chromite, and aluminate nanocomposites

Abstract

In the current study, nanoparticles (NPs) with Zn0.33Co0.33Mg0.33Fe2O4 (F), Zn0.33Co0.33Mg0.33Cr2O4 (C), and Zn0.33Co0.33Mg0.33Al2O4 (A) were used to prepare various nanocomposites (NCs). Different NCs 0.5 F / 0.5 C (FC), 0.5 F / 0.5 A (FA), 0.5 A / 0.5 C (AC), and 0.33 F / 0.33 A / 0.33 C (FAC) were prepared via the co-precipitation method followed by the ball milling technique, starting from F, A, C (NPs). X-ray diffraction confirms the formation of NCs with minor impurities with cubic spinel structures. The transmission electron micrographs display the nearly spherical and cubic shapes of FC, AC, and FAC NCs. However, the FA nanocomposite (NC) has a nearly spherical shape. The elemental contents for NCs are confirmed using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The existence of the vibrational modes of NPs, constituting each NCs, is verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The bandgaps for various NCs, determined from ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, are related to the crystallite size variations X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirm the elemental composition as well as the oxidation states of the elements present in the NCs. M-H loops, measured by the vibrating sample magnetometer demonstrate a soft ferromagnetic behavior. The saturation magnetization Ms for FA is higher than that of FC, AC, and FAC. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized NCs against four bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus faecium) was evaluated by means of broth microdilution assay, minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and time-kill test. The synthesized NCs displayed different impacts against the targeted bacteria due to several factors, including size, shape, doping, secondary phase, optical, and magnetic parameters. These findings emphasize the potential application of these NCs in treating bacterial infections, including multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.