Surfactant-assisted sol-gel synthesis of zinc ferrite magnetic nanoparticles for oil spills cleanup from seawater and antibacterial activity applications

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research is to assess the removal of oil spills from the seawater surface as well as the antibacterial activity of ZnFe2O4-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, cationic surfactant) magnetic nanoparticles (ZFO-CTAB MNPs). Design/methodology/approach A CTAB-assisted sol–gel method was used to synthesize ZFO-CTAB MNPs. X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used for ZFO-CTAB MNPs characterization. Also, the magnetic force and apparent density of ZFO-CTAB MNPs were determined. The oil spill cleanup was investigated by using the gravimetric oil removal (GOR) technique, which used ZFO-CTAB MNPs as oil absorbent material and four oil samples (crude, diesel, gasoline and used oil) as oil spill models. The antibacterial activity of ZFO-CTAB MNPs against Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi) was investigated by using the optical density method. Findings The results revealed that, when the amount of ZFO-CTAB was 0.01 g, gasoline oil had the highest GOR (51.80 ± 0.88 g/g) and crude oil had the lowest (11.29 ± 0.82 g/g). Furthermore, for Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ZFO-CTAB MNPs inhibited bacterial growth with a higher percentage (94.24%–95.63%). Originality/value The applications of ZFO-CTAB MNPs in the cleanup of oil spills from aqueous solutions, as well as their antibacterial activity. The results showed that ZFO-CTAB MNPs are a promising material for removing oil spills from bodies of water as well as an antibacterial agent against Gram-negative bacterial strains.