Abstract :

Nickel oxide (NiO) and Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized using a simple, eco-friendly co-precipitation method followed by ultrasonication. The synthesis utilized AR-grade NiCl₂·6H₂O and Zn(NO₃) ₂·6H₂O with NH₄OH as a precipitating agent, offering a cost-effective and scalable approach. Structural analysis via X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of pure cubic phases with crystallite sizes ranging between 10.4–18.5 nm for NiO and 11.6–19.2 nm for ZnO, depending on the calcination temperature (400–600°C). UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed a tunable band gap: NiO exhibited Eg values of 4.1 eV (500°C) to 1.6 eV (600°C), while ZnO showed Eg from 3.6 eV (500°C) to 4.0 eV (600°C), indicating potential for visible-light-driven photocatalytic or optoelectronic applications. FTIR confirmed strong metal–oxygen bonding, and SEM revealed well-defined porous morphologies. Notably, antifungal activity tested against Aspergillus niger and Fusarium spp. using the Kirby–Bauer method showed zone of inhibition (ZOI) up to 17.4 mm for ZnO and 16.6 mm for NiO, respectively, at a nanoparticle concentration of 200 µg/ml. This study is innovative in demonstrating a temperature-tuned synthesis approach that correlates nano-structural features with antimicrobial efficiency, enabling design of next-generation biocompatible antifungal agents for biomedical coatings and environmental remediation.

---

Keywords :

co-precipitation method, FT-IR Antimicrobial activity., NiO nanoparticle, Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticle, XRD.

---

References :

1. Jayachandran, A.; Aswathy, T.R.; Nair, A.S. Green synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Cayratia pedataleaf extract. Biochem. Biophys. Rep. 2021, 26, 100995. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
2. Agarwal, H.; Kumar, S.V.; Rajeshkumar, S. A review on green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles—An eco-friendly approach.Resour. Technol. 2017, 3, 406–413. [CrossRef]
3. Rodnyi, P.A.; Khodyuk, I.V. Optical and luminescence properties of zinc oxide (Review). Opt. Spectroscopy. 2011, 111, 776–785. [CrossRef]
4. Shaba, E.Y.; Jacob, J.O.; Tijani, J.O.; Suleiman, M.A.T. A critical review of synthesis parameters affecting the properties of zinc oxide nanoparticle and its application in wastewater treatment. Appl. Water Sci. 2021, 11, 48. [CrossRef]
5. Kielbik, P.; Kaszewski, J.; Rosowska, J.; Wolska, E.; Witkowski, B.; Gralak, M.; Gajewski, Z.; Godlewski, M.; Godlewski, M.M.Biodegradation of the ZnO:Eu nanoparticles in the tissues of adult mouse after alimentary application. Nanomed. Nanotechnol.Biol. Med. 2017, 13, 843–852. [CrossRef]
6. Mandala, B.K. Scopes of green synthesized metal and metal oxide nanomaterials in antimicrobial therapy. In Nanobiomaterials inAntimicrobial Therapy; William Andrew Publishing: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2016; pp. 313–341. [CrossRef]Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3066 23 of 31
7. Weismann, N.; Trammel, W.; Brieger, J. Zinc oxide nanoparticles for therapeutic purposes in cancer medicine. J. Mater. Chem. B2020, 8, 4973–4989. [CrossRef]
8. Qin, X.; Zhang, J.; Wang, B.; Xu, G.; Yang, X.; Zou, Z.; Yu, C. Ferritinophagy is involved in the zinc oxide nanoparticles-induced ferroptosis of vascular endothelial cells. Autophagy 2021, 17, 4266–4285. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
9. Wiesmann, N.; Kluenker, M.; Demuth, P.; Brenner, W.; Tremel, W.; Brieger, J. Zinc overload mediated by zinc oxide nanoparticles as innovative anti-tumor agent. J. Trace Elem. Med. Biol. 2018, 51, 226–234. [CrossRef]
10. Stepankova, H.; Swiatkowski, M.; Kruszynski, R.; Svec, P.; Michalkova, H.; Smolikova, V.; Ridoskova, A.; Splichal, Z.; Michalek, P.;Richtera, L.; et al. The Anti-Proliferative Activity of Coordination Compound-Based ZnO Nanoparticles as a Promising Agentagainst Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells. Int. J. Nanomed. 2021, 16, 4431–4449. [CrossRef]
11. Khairy, S.A. El-Safty, Mesoporous NiO nanoarchitectures for electrochemical energy storages’: influence of size, porosity and morphology, RSC Adv. 3 (2013) 23801–23809.
12. H. Li, J.H. Yum, S.J. Moon, P. Chen, Inorganic p-type semiconductors: their applications and progress in dye-sensitized solar cells and perovskite solar cells, Energies 9 (2016) 1–28.
13. Kim, H.J. Park, C.P. Grigoropoulos, D. Lee, J. Jang, Solution processed nickel oxide nanoparticles with Nickel Hydroxide for hole injection layers of high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes, Nano scale 8 (40) (2016) 17608–17615.
14. Li, Z. Chen, W. Kong, X. Jia, J. Cai, S. Dong, Effect of polyethylene glycol on the NiO photocathode, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 12 (2017) 501.
15. Lu, T. Zhu, G. Zhang, Z. He, C. Lin, Y. Chen, H. Guo, Influence of magnetic fields on the morphology and pseudocapacitive properties of NiO on nickel foam, RSC Adv. 5 (2015) 99745 99753.
16. L. Zhang, F. Huang, A. Nattestad, K. Wang, D. Fu, A. Mishra, P. Bauerle, ¨ U. Bach, Y.B. Cheng, Enhanced open-circuit voltage of p-type DSC with highly crystalline NiO nanoparticles, Chem. Commun. 47 (2011) 4808–4810.
17. S. Kate, S.A. Khalate, R.J. Deokate, Overview of nanostructured metal oxides and pure nickel oxide (NiO) electrodes for super capacitors: a review, J. Alloys Compd. 734 (2018) 89–111.
18. V. Thi, A.K. Rai, J. Gim, J. Kim, High performance of Co-doped NiO nanoparticle anode material for rechargeable lithium ion batteries, J. Power Sources 292 (2015) 23–30.
19. Motahari, M.R. Mozdianfard, F. Soofivand, M. Salavati-Niasari, NiO nanostructures: synthesis, characterization and photocatalyst application in dye wastewater treatment, RSC Adv.4 (2014) 27654–27660.
20. Sun, N. Park, Z. Sun, J. Zhou, J. Wang, X. Pang, S. Shen, S.Y. Noh, Y. Jing, S. Jin, P.K.L. Yu, D. Wang, Nickel oxide functionalized silicon for efficient photo oxidation of water, Energy Environ. Sci. 5 (2012) 7872–7877.
21. Wang, X. Lu, T. Zhai, Y. Ling, H. Wang, Y. Tong, Y. Li, Free-standing nickel oxide nanoflake arrays: synthesis and application for highly sensitive non enzymatic glucose sensors, Nanoscale 4 (2012) 3123–3127.
22. Wang, C. Ma, X. Sun, H.D. Li, Preparation of nanocrystalline metal oxide powders with surfactant-mediated method, Inorg. Chem. Commun. 5 (10) (2002
23. Chu, M. Li, Z. Wan, L. Ding, D. Song, S. Dou, J. Chen, Y. Wang, Morphology control and fabrication of multi-shelled NiO spheres by tuning the pH value via a hydrothermal process, CrystEngComm. 16 (2014) 11096–11101. A.J. Christy et al.
24. K. Rath, S.K. Acharya, B.H. Kim, K.T. Lee, B.G. Ahn, Photoluminescence properties of sesquioxide doped ceria synthesized by modified sol–gel route, Mater. Lett. 65 (6) (2011) 955–958.
25. Zhang, D. Zhang, X. Ni, J. Song, H. Zhen, Synthesis and electrochemical properties of different sizes of the CuO particles, J. Nanoparticle Res. 10 (2008) 839–844.
26. C. Vidyasagar, Y.A. Naik, T.G. Venkatesha, R. Viswanatha, Solid-state synthesis and effect of temperature on optical properties of CuO nanoparticles, Nano micro Lett. 4 (2) (2012)73–77.
27. V. Kumar, Y. Diamant, A. Gedanken, Sonochemical synthesis and characterization of nanometer-size transition metal oxides from metal acetates, Chem.Mater. 12 (8) (2000) 2301 2305.
28. Thornberry, H.H., 1950. A paper -disk plate method for the quantitative evaluation of fungicides and bactericides. Phytopathology 40, 419-429.
29. Karthi keyan, P. Vijaya Kumar, A. Jafar Ahamed, and Ravikumar A, “Synthesis of Mg2+ doped NiO nanoparticles and their structural and optical properties by Co-precipitation method,” J. Adv. Appl. Sci. Res., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1–9, 2021, doi: 10.46947/joaasr222020101.
30. Chwalibog et al., “Visualization of interaction between inorganic nanoparticles and bacteria or fungi,” Int. J. Nano medicine, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1085–1094, 2010, doi: 10.2147/IJN.S13532.
31. Tortora, G., Funke, R.B., Case, L.C., 2001. Microbiology: An Introduction. Addison- Wesley Longman Inc., New York.