Synthesis, Structural and Antibacterial Properties of Mg Doped ZnO Nanoparticles

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were chemically synthesized with magnesium doping and characterized through UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) techniques and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Magnesium doped ZnO nanoparticles were found to be crystalline having a single phase as confirmed by XRD and HRTEM. The antibacterial activity of Mg doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by a simple co-precipitation technique have been investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains. It has been interestingly observed that Mg doping has enhanced the inhibitory activity of ZnO against S. aureus more efficiently than the E. coli bacterial strain.