Contribution of ZnO/TiO2nanocomposite particles towards bacterial growth inhibition

Abstract

ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite particles were successfully synthesized using the coprecipitation method. XRD and FTIR characterizations were successfully carried out to determine the structure of the particles and the functional groups of the nanocomposite particles. The exploration of the diameter of nanocomposite particles' inhibition has been successfully carried out using antibacterial tests through the agar method. The XRD characterization confirmed the presence of two phases of the crystal structure, representing the ZnO and TiO2 phases. Thus, the ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite particles were successfully synthesized. This finding was also confirmed by the FTIR characterization. The FTIR analysis showed that the ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite particles were detected at the absorption wavenumber of 678.94cm-1, representing the functional groups of the main components of Zn-O-Ti. The antibacterial activation on ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites indicated a positive response. The average inhibition power of ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite particles for Staphylococcus aureus bacteria indicated a diameter of 7.71mm, while for Escherichia coli bacteria was 13.40mm. This inhibition had a greater value than each of the constituent nanoparticles, namely ZnO and TiO2. Hence, ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite particles significantly contributed to bacterial inhibition and can be used as an effective antibacterial agent.