Back to Search Start Over

Influence of the Alcohols on the ZnO Synthesis and Its Properties: The Photocatalytic and Antimicrobial Activities

Authors :
Ludmila Motelica
Bogdan-Stefan Vasile
Anton Ficai
Adrian-Vasile Surdu
Denisa Ficai
Ovidiu-Cristian Oprea
Ecaterina Andronescu
Dan Corneliu Jinga
Alina Maria Holban
Source :
Pharmaceutics, Vol 14, Iss 12, p 2842 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2022.

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials are used in various health-related applications, from antimicrobial textiles to wound dressing composites and from sunscreens to antimicrobial packaging. Purity, surface defects, size, and morphology of the nanoparticles are the main factors that influence the antimicrobial properties. In this study, we are comparing the properties of the ZnO nanoparticles obtained by solvolysis using a series of alcohols: primary from methanol to 1-hexanol, secondary (2-propanol and 2-butanol), and tertiary (tert-butanol). While the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles is successfully accomplished in all primary alcohols, the use of secondary or tertiary alcohols does not lead to ZnO as final product, underlining the importance of the used solvent. The shape of the obtained nanoparticles depends on the alcohol used, from quasi-spherical to rods, and consequently, different properties are reported, including photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities. In the photocatalytic study, the ZnO obtained in 1-butanol exhibited the best performance against methylene blue (MB) dye solution, attaining a degradation efficiency of 98.24%. The comparative study among a series of usual model dyes revealed that triarylmethane dyes are less susceptible to photo-degradation. The obtained ZnO nanoparticles present a strong antimicrobial activity on a broad range of microorganisms (bacterial and fungal strains), the size and shape being the important factors. This permits further tailoring for use in medical applications.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19994923
Volume :
14
Issue :
12
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Pharmaceutics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.1b444474d2c866fb8686c6ae9ae
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14122842