Original strategy for facile synthesis of hybrid ‘ZnO–Zn2TiO4’ nanotubes and antimicrobial activity

Abstract

The necessity of new catalytically active nanomaterials has drawn interest on developing new and emerging hybrid nanomaterials based on nanoparticles and nanocompounds. Furthermore, research work on the synthesis and the study of new hybrid nanomaterials are areas of great curiosity in modern science due to their potential applications in different areas. In the present work, ZnO–Zn2TiO4 hybrid nanotubes (NTs) were synthesized for the first time based on a polyol process. This novel approach allows one to produce ZnO–Zn2TiO4 NTs owing to a modified polyol process that makes use of 1,3 propanediol as a solvent and zinc(II) acetate with Titanium (IV) butoxide as the zinc and titanium precursors. The structural features, crystalline structures, thermal behavior and chemical composition of the resulting ZnO–Zn2TiO4 hybrid NTs were systematically characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy Dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX). Preparing the hybrid NTs according to this polyol method allows us to obtain ZnO–Zn2TiO4 hybrid nanotubes with a uniform diameter (200–500 nm) along the pore length (3–5 μm) without using any metal catalyst. ZnO–Zn2TiO4 nanoparticle was tested for its antibacterial effect using MIC and MBC technique and has showed a good activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.