Structural, dielectric and antibacterial properties of engineered TiO2-CuFe2O4 nanocomposites.

In this study, CuFe2O4 nanoparticles were prepared by sol-gel method and TiO2 nanoparticles were purchased from sigma Aldrich. CuFe2O4-TiO2 mixed nanocomposites were prepared by grinding an amount of TiO2 and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles. Structural and morphological studies of the prepared samples were carried out using X-ray diffraction [XRD] and Transmission electron microscopy [TEM] analysis. From the XRD pattern of TiO2 nanoparticles, the phase of TiO2 nanoparticles was identified. The average particle size of TiO2 nanoparticles calculated from the Scherrer equation was found to be 73 nm. By comparing the XRD data of the prepared CFO nanoparticles with the standard JCPDS data, the tetragonal structure of CuFe2O4 nanoparticle was confirmed. The average particle size calculated from the Scherrer equation was found to be 16nm. The XRD pattern of the composite sample showed prominent peaks corresponding to the individual TiO2 and CuFe2O4 phases. Transmission electron microscopic images of TiO2 and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles revealed that particles are almost spherical in shape. Also, the TEM image of the composite systems showed the presence of two distinct nanoparticles. The presence of TiO2 and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles were confirmed from the XRD pattern and TEM images. The frequency dependent dielectric properties of the prepared samples revealed that all the samples exhibit excellent dielectric constant at room temperature with low loss. The addition of TiO2 to CuFe2O4 played a significant role in improving the dielectric response of the composite samples. Antibacterial activity of the prepared composite samples was evaluated using well diffusion method, with the gram-positive bacteria S. aureus and results reveals that TiO2, CuFe2O4−TiO2 and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles possesses good antibacterial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]