Bactericidal, structural and morphological properties of ZnO2 nanoparticles synthesized under UV or ultrasound irradiation

R Colonia, J L Solís and M Gómez

Abstract

Nanoparticles of ZnO₂ were synthesized by a sol–gel method using Zn(CH₃COO)₂ and H₂O₂ in an aqueous solution exposed to either ultraviolet (UV) or ultrasound irradiation. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy showed that the nanostructures consisted of spherical blackberry-like clusters. Nanoparticles fabricated by using UV irradiation had smaller sizes and narrower size distributions than nanoparticles prepared by using ultrasound. Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were used as test microorganisms, and the antibacterial activity of the ZnO₂ nanoparticles was studied by use of the well diffusion agar bacteriological test. ZnO₂ nanoparticles synthetized using UV had the best antibacterial properties. The inhibition zone was largest for B. subtilis but was present also for S. aureus and E. coli.