Co-assembled ZnO (shell) - CuO (core) nano-oxide materials for microbial protective

The applicability of metal-oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) is increasing in the biomedical and advanced industrial fields. Owing to their co-assembly, they are well-defined nanostructures, which provide advanced chemical, physical... [ view full abstract ]

The applicability of metal-oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) is increasing in the biomedical and advanced industrial fields. Owing to their co-assembly, they are well-defined nanostructures, which provide advanced chemical, physical and biological properties. However, the design and development of co-assembled MONPs with novel functions, using simple methods, are of critical importance. Green Chemistry offers several eco-friendly techniques to fabricate MONPs. Among them, the double precipitation process is one of the simple, cost-effective and easy methods of controlling the morphology of novel MONPs. In this process, the selection of new MONPs composition is more important in order to optimize their physical, chemical and biological characteristics with cost effective and less color, which can enhance their applicability in the packaging industries, principally for health care application. Herein, ZnO-CuO nanoparticles with improved antibacterial were developed by simple double precipitation technique and their properties were studied. The bactericide ability of ZnO-CuO nanoparticles was investigated against Escherichia coli. The ZnO-CuO_0.5 exhibited high activity against E.coli at high and low concentration levels. The MONPs were analyzed via FTIR, UV-visible/DRS, PL, SEM/EDS, TEM, XRD and TGA analysis. These results show the formation of hexagonal wurtzite-monoclinic phase morphology and the thermal characteristics of the ZnO-CuO nanoparticles emphasize the potential of these dual nanooxide materials. The intensity of the emission band of ZnO was decreased following the increase in the CuO concentrations and the order is as follows: CuO0.50.1

Acknowledgments: This work was supported by Fondecyt Proyecto No 11160073, Chile and the Centro de Investigación de Polímeros Avanzados (CIPA), CONICYT Regional, GORE BIO-BIO PRFC0002.