Synthesis and characterization of antibacterial magnetite-activated carbon nanoparticles

Abstract

Magnetite iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized using the co-precipitation methods were further functionalized with activated carbon. The magnetite-activated carbon nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared confirmed the functionalization of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with the activated carbon. The X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate that magnetite-activated carbon nanoparticles were indexed into the spinel cubic lattice with a lattice parameter of 0.833 nm and an average particle size of about 14 nm. Various parameters such as dislocation density, microstrain, and surface morphological studies were calculated. However, this work implicated the use of magnetite-activated carbon nanoparticles in antibacterial studies. Further, the antibacterial effect of magnetite-activated carbon nanoparticles was evaluated against three pathogenic bacteria, which showed that the nanoparticles have moderate antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive ( Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative ( Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aureginosa) pathogenic bacterial strains in the presence of different magnetite-activated carbon nanoparticle concentrations at room temperature.