UV‐blocking performance and antibacterial activity of Cd, Ba co‐doped ZnO nanomaterials prepared by a facile wet chemical method

Abstract

The utilization of highly efficient ultraviolet (UV)‐attenuating materials has inevitably signaled an ever‐increasing demand to mitigate the impending pessimistic impact of UV rays that consistently depletes the ozone atmosphere. In this context, a highly efficient Cd, Ba co‐doped ZnO nanomaterial has been prepared using a facile wet chemical approach. X‐ray diffractometer analysis indicates the evolution of wurtzite structure of ZnO with a slight peak shift towards the higher angle upon co‐doping which ascertains the impacted lattice contraction. N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms of the material supplement magnificently a typical type‐IV behavior displaying an H1 type hysteresis loop at high pressures whereby authorizing the open meso‐porous characteristics. The resulting Cd, Ba co‐doped ZnO nanorods disclose integrated performances of widespread polychromatic UV–visible luminescent emission, wide band gap, and enhanced UV absorbance. In particular, Cd, Ba co‐doped ZnO nanorods impart a positive UV‐blocking execution of 97% for UVA at 360 nm and 88% for UVB at 320 nm, which is found to be higher than most of the reported ZnO‐related materials. Besides these intriguing aforementioned properties, co‐doping is also appropriate for imparting better bacterial inhibition against the two tested strains (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus). Altogether, these results indicate that the co‐doped ZnO nanorods developed in the current investigation could potentially serve as a propitious alternative UV‐blocking material, especially for biomedical applications.