Materials Science
Shatha Sh. Batros; Mohammed H. Ali; Ali J. Addie
Abstract
Tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile chemical precipitation route using tin chloride (SnCl2•2H2O) as precursor and ammonia as precipitant. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were subjected to post-calcination at 300°C, 400°C and 500°C and thoroughly characterized ...
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Tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile chemical precipitation route using tin chloride (SnCl2•2H2O) as precursor and ammonia as precipitant. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were subjected to post-calcination at 300°C, 400°C and 500°C and thoroughly characterized by advanced techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. XRD patterns revealed the formation of a tetragonal SnO2 crystalline phase with average crystallite sizes of 11.9 nm, 13.9 nm, and 17.2 nm for the samples calcined at 300°C, 400°C and 500°C respectively. SEM micrographs demonstrated agglomerated and irregular morphology of the calcined SnO2 nanoparticles. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of characteristic Sn-O and O-Sn-O vibrational modes in the calcined SnO2 samples. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated against model Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacterial strains by standard zone of inhibition assays. The SnO2 nanoparticles exhibited excellent antibacterial activity due to their high specific surface area. A systematic increase in the inhibition zone diameter was observed with a decrease in the crystallite size of SnO2 for both bacterial strains, suggesting an inverse relationship between crystallite size and antibacterial behaviour. The present work demonstrates a simple, eco-friendly synthesis of antibacterial SnO2 nanoparticles with controlled crystallite size by tuning the calcination temperature.
