Influence of Zinc on the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Copper Ferrites by Sol-Gel Auto-Combustion Method and its Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

— Single phase spinel ferrite samples of Cu 1-x Zn x Fe 2 O 4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) were synthesized by using sol-gel auto-combustion method and annealed at 1000 °C for 5 h. The prepared samples were characterized by using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) and its antibacterial activity. XRD results confirm the presence of single phase spinel cubic structure in all prepared samples with crystallite size varying from 61 nm – 64 nm. No impurity peaks or phase transformation were observed in any of the samples. The vibrational frequencies of two main absorption bands of all samples are discussed from the results of the FTIR analysis. Hysteresis loops of all samples are obtained by VSM analysis. The saturation magnetization showed an increasing trend with increasing Zn content, due to the redistribution of cations at octahedral and tetrahedral sites. A comparison results for all the four samples shows that gram negative bacteria have maximum inhibition than gram positive bacteria.