N. Shanmugam

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles from the marine seaweed Sargassum wightii and their antibacterial activity against some human pathogens

In this paper, we have reported on biological synthesis of nano-sized silver and its antibacterial activity against human pathogens. The nanoparticles of silver were formed by the reduction of silver nitrate to aqueous silver metal ions during exposure to the extract of marine seaweed Sargassum wightii. The optical properties of the obtained silver nanoparticles were characterized using UV–visible absorption and room temperature photoluminescence. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that the synthesized silver nanoparticles are in the cubic phase. The existence of functional groups was identified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphology and size of the synthesized particles were studied with atomic force microscope and high-resolution transmission electron microscope measurements. The synthesized nanoparticles have an effective antibacterial activity against S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, and S. typhi.

Structural, optical and morphological analyses of pristine titanium di-oxide nanoparticles--synthesized via sol-gel route.

Pure titanium di-oxide nanoparticles (TiO2) were synthesized by sol-gel technique at room temperature with appropriate reactants. The synthesis of anatase phase TiO2 nanoparticles was achieved by tetraisopropyl orthotitanate and 2-propanol as common starting materials and the product was annealed at 450 °C for 4 h. The synthesized product was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-VIS-Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. XRD pattern confirmed the crystalline nature and tetragonal structure of synthesized composition. Average grain size was determined from X-ray line broadening, using the Debye-Scherrer relation. The functional groups present in the sample were identified by FTIR spectroscopy. Diffuse reflectance measurement indicated an absorption band edge on UV-region. The allowed direct and indirect band gap energies, as well as the crystallite size of pure TiO2 nanoparticles are calculated from DRS analysis. The microstructure and elemental identification were done by SEM with EDX analysis.

Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by biological method

Zinc oxide have been produced via a simple green method from zinc nitrate and leaf extract aqueous solutions. Prepared ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were investigated by employing through UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. The present investigation, confirmed the estimated band gap 3.51eV and the PL intensity at 402nm in visible region are dependent upon the geometrical shape and size of the ZnO NPs. The TEM micrograph and XRD pattern confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO NPs. The presence of functional groups and the chemical bonding are confirmed by FTIR spectra. EDS shows that the highly pure ZnO nanostructures. Moreover, the catalytic activity of synthesized ZnO in the reduction of methylene blue was studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The effects of process conditions on the morphology and size of ZnO have been found from FE-SEM and TEM analyses, respectively.

Effect of annealing on the ZnS nanocrystals prepared by chemical precipitation method

Nanocrystals of ZnS have been synthesized through simple chemical precipitation method using thiourea as sulphur source. The synthesized products were annealed at different temperatures in the range of 200-800°C. The as-synthesized and annealed samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible absorption (UV-Vis), and room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The morphological features of ZnS annealed at 200 and 500°C were studied by atomic force microscope (AFM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. The phase transformation of ZnS and formation of ZnO were confirmed by thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) curves.

Influence of Zn doping on the electrochemical capacitor behavior of MnO2 nanocrystals

Herein, we suggest a simple chemical precipitation method for the preparation of bare and different levels of Zn doped MnO2 nanoparticles as electrodes for supercapacitors. The structure and chemical composition of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The morphologies of the undoped and doped products were analyzed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a field emission transmission electron microscope (FE-TEM). The surface areas and pore volumes of the products were determined from N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm curves and the results reveal that MnO2 doped with Zn yields a smaller particle size, higher specific surface area, and a larger pore volume than those of pure MnO2. The capacitance behavior of the products was analyzed by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge and impedance spectroscopy. The results of the capacitance behavior reveal the improved capacitance performance for MnO2 on Zn doping. Especially, among the doped products, MnO2 doped with 0.125 M Zn gives the high specific capacitance of 620 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1. The present work may open up a new path for the improvement of pseudocapacitance behavior of manganese oxide by Zn doping.

Luminance behavior of Ce3+ doped ZnS nanostructures.

We report the synthesis and characterization of undoped and various levels of Ce(3+) doped ZnS nanocrystal. The structure and size of the products were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The existence of functional groups was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR). The UV-Visible measurements reveal that the synthesized products are blue shifted when compared with bulk phase of ZnS as a result of quantum confinement effect. The PL studies show an enhancement in the intensity of emission band in the UV region on increased Ce(3+) doping. The morphology of the products was evaluated by Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and High resolution transmission electron microscopy (FESEM). The presence of Ce(3+) was confirmed by Energy dispersive spectral analysis (EDS). The thermal stability of pure and doped products was analyzed by thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA).

Sol–gel synthesis and characterization of pure and manganese doped TiO2 nanoparticles – A new NLO active material

Pure and Manganese (4%, 8%, 12% and 16%) doped titanium di-oxide (Mn-TiO2) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel technique. The preparation of pure and Mn doped TiO2 nanoparticles were achieved by tetra-isopropyl orthotitanate and 2-propanol as common starting materials and the products were annealed at 450°C and 750°C to get anatase and rutile phases, respectively. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-VIS-Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Kurtz powder second harmonic generation (SHG) test. XRD patterns confirmed the crystalline nature and tetragonal structure of synthesized materials. The functional groups present in the samples were identified by FTIR study. The allowed direct and indirect band gap energies, as well as the crystallite sizes of obtained nanoparticles were calculated from DRS analysis. Microstructures and elemental identification were done by SEM with EDX analysis. The existence of SHG signals was observed using Nd: YAG laser with fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm. The products were found to be transparent in the entire visible region with cut-off wavelengths within the UV region confirms its suitability for device fabrications.

Optical behavior and sensor activity of Pb ions incorporated ZnO nanocrystals.

We present the synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline ZnO doped with Pb in different concentrations. The structural and chemical compositions of the products are characterized by XRD, XPS, EDS and FT-IR spectroscopy. The observed results suggest that Pb ions (Pb(2+) and Pb(4+)) are successfully incorporated into the lattice position of Zn(2+) ions in ZnO. The optical properties of the products are studied by UV-Vis and room temperature PL measurements. The PL emission spectra of ZnO:Pb, show the intensity quenching for both the UV and visible emissions. The influence of Pb on controlling the size and morphology of ZnO is studied by FESEM and confirmed by HRTEM. Amperometric response shows that ZnO incorporated with 0.075M of Pb ions has enhanced sensor activity for H2O2 than the undoped product.

Synthesis and characterization of surfactants assisted Cu2+ doped ZnO nanocrystals

In the present work, we report a simple chemical precipitation method to synthesize precursors of different levels of Cu(2+) ions doped crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in the presence of capping agents namely cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP). Thermal analysis result suggests that 300°C could be the optimum level of annealing for the harvest of pure phase of ZnO from the as prepared particles. The structural, optical and chemical features of undoped and surfactants assisted ZnO: Cu(2+) nanoparticles were studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Among the two surfactants used SHMP is an effective one in controlling the size and morphology of the particles.

Synthesis of Ce4+ ions doped ZnO electrode as a sensor for hydrogen peroxide

Abstract Ce4+ ions doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by the simple chemical precipitation method with different levels of cerium. The synthesized products were analyzed for X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements. The morphology of the optimum level of Ce4+ doped ZnO was studied by high resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis. To ascertain the sensor activity of Ce4+ doped ZnO, the electrocatalytic response to the reduction of H2O2 was studied with ZnO and ZnO: Ce4+ electrodes. Fabricated ZnO: Ce4+ sensor displays excellent performance towards the detection of H2O2 than bare ZnO.