Optical, structural and morphological properties of ZnO and Fe+3 doped ZnO-NPs prepared by Foeniculum vulgare extract as capping agent for optoelectronic applications

Abstract

The green method was utilized to synthesize pure,0.02Fe and 0.05Fe doped ZnO NPs at room temperature. The capping agent (extract of Fennel leaves) was handled throughout the preparation process. The prepared samples have been characterized by SEM, EDX, FTIR, UV–vis and XRD. XRD showed that all the prepared samples have a hexagonal structure with average crystallite size is in the range 27–24.65 nm. SEM appeared the difference in the morphology of pure and 0.05Fe doped ZnO NPs. EDX spectra confirmed the presence of O, Zn in all samples and Fe in 0.05Fe doped ZnO sample. The FT-IR spectrum confirmed the existence of Fennel leaves extract as a capping agent. The UV–visible showed the change in the band gap between the pure sample and doped samples, which were in the range 3.87–4.22 eV. This blue shift is attributed to the quantum confinement effect. The antibacterial analysis displayed that 0.02 and 0.05Fe doped ZnO NPs have a higher activity as compared to pure ZnO NPs. The results also showed that there were more positive antibacterial effects on Gram-positive bacteria than on Gram-negative bacteria. This materials with great optical, structural and antibacterial properties can be used for antibiotics development and can be widely used in medical applications and optoelectronic devices.