Synthesis, characterization, and antibacterial activities of ZnLaFe2O4/NiTiO3 nanocomposite

Abstract In this research, for the first time, ZnLaFe 2 O 4 /NiTiO 3 nanocomposites have been synthesized through a polyol assistant sol-gel method. To investigate the effect of different surfactants on the morphology and particle size of ZnLaFe 2 O 4 nanostructure, cetrimonium bromide, sodium dodecyl sulfate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, and oleic acid were used as surfactant agents. Based on the SEM results, it was found that morphology and particle size of the products could be affected by these surfactants. Furthermore, study on antibacterial effect of ZnLaFe 2 O 4 /NiTiO 3 nanocomposites by colony forming unit (CFU) reduction assay showed that ZnLaFe 2 O 4 /NiTiO 3 nanocomposites have antibacterial activity against Gram-negative Escherchia coli (ATCC 10536) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29737). Antibacterial results demonstrate that nanocomposite significantly reduced the growth rate of E. coli bacteria and S. aureus after 120 min. The structure and morphology of the resulting particles were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, EDX, and SEM analysis.