Investigations on Photocatalytic, Antimicrobial and Magnetic Properties of Sol–Gel-Synthesized Ga-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles

Abstract

Gallium (Ga)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized using simple and cost-effective sol–gel method. X-ray powder diffraction studies illustrated the crystalline nature of Ga-doped ZnO nanoparticles with hexagonal wurtzite structure. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence confirmed the Ga[Formula: see text] incorporation in ZnO. The photocatalytic activities of all the synthesized samples were performed on methylene blue dye solution exposed under UV light. The antibacterial activities of the synthesized nanoparticles were investigated against Aeromonas liquefaciens and Shigella flexeneri gram-negative pathogenic strains. The experimental results clearly demonstrated significant enhancement in photocatalytic and antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticles doped with optimum concentration of Ga. Room temperature vibrating sample magnetometer measurements illustrated weak ferromagnetism in all the Ga-doped ZnO samples.