Synthesis of zinc ferrite nanoparticles and evaluation of their antifungal properties at different temperatures

Abstract

Zinc ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized by the co-precipitation method where Polyethylene Glycol act as the capping agent. The sample structure and morphology of the product were analysed by powder XRD, FTIR, U-V visible spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The prepared NPs were annealed at varying temperatures such as 500◦C, 600◦C and 700◦C. The XRD data confirms the presence of nanosized ZnFe₂O₄ particles and the X-ray density of the sample and their particle size increases linearly along with the increase in annealing temperature, but the lattice parameter changes inversely. The FTIR data also provide information about nanosized zinc ferrite particles. The surface characteristics of ZnFe₂O₄ were observed by FESEM. The anti-fungal properties of zinc ferrite were observed by FESEM. The anti-fungal properties of zinc ferrite nanoparticles were also evaluated.