Synthesis and Characterization of Ag/ZnO Nanoparticles for Bacteria Disinfection in Water

Abstract

In this study, two green synthesis routes were used for the synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanoparticles, using cassava starch as a simple and low-cost effective fuel and Aloe vera as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The Ag/ZnO nanoparticles were characterized and used for bacterial disinfection of lake water contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli). Characterization indicated the formation of a face-centered cubic structure of metallic silver nanoparticles with no insertion of Ag into the ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure. Physicochemical and bacteriological analyses described in “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater” were used to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment. In comparison to pure ZnO, the synthesized Ag/ZnO nanoparticles showed high efficiencies against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and general coliforms present in the lake water. These pathogens were absent after treatment using Ag/ZnO nanoparticles. The results indicate that Ag/ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via green chemistry are a promising candidate for the treatment of wastewaters contaminated by bacteria, due to their facile preparation, low-cost synthesis, and disinfection efficiency.

Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized by a Green Method Using Sargassum Extracts

“…Zinc oxide is a semiconductor material that has been used in a wide range of applications [ 1 ]. In the field of biomedicine, it has been used due to its antibacterial activity and non-toxicity [ 2 , 3 ]. These and other properties can be improved when ZnO is at the nanometric scale.…”

Sustainable bioactivity enhancement of ZnO–Ag nanoparticles in antimicrobial, antibiofilm, lung cancer, and photocatalytic applications

“…The nanomaterials were investigated using HRTEM, and the resulting EDAX spectrum revealed the presence of zinc, oxygen, and silver, while no other material was detected. 47,48 The impact of nanoparticle size is particularly signicant when considering ZnO and ZnO-Ag NPs. It is widely recognized that as the size of nanoparticles decreases, there is an increase in the ratio of surface area to volume.…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Boehmite Particles Obtained from Recycling: Water Disinfection Application

“…In its elemental form, silver (Ag) is toxic, though quite efficient in combating microorganisms. Nevertheless, the deposition of Ag-NPs on the surface of nanostructured oxides was reported to decrease their toxicity and to increase their bactericidal efficiency, as the surface area of nanoparticles dispersed on a nanostructured surface allows greater accessibility to microbes [9,10,[12][13][14][15][16][17].…”