Effect of Fe+F doping on the antibacterial activity of ZnO powder

Undoped and Fe+F doped ZnO powders were prepared using a simple and low cost soft chemical method. The Fe doping level was varied from 0 to 10 at% in steps of 2 at% and the F doping level was kept constant at 10 at%. The XRD studies showed that the prepared powders have hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO. The variation in the periodicity of the crystalline ZnO powders as evidenced from the variation in the intensities of the XRD lines is correlated with Fe and F incorporation in the ZnO lattice. The PL and FTIR results supported these incorporations. The SEM images revealed that the grains have perfect hexagonal shape with the side greater than 200 nm up to the Fe doping level of 4 at% and then it decreased drastically to nano level when the doping level is greater than 6 at%. From the antibacterial studies, it is found that the grain size plays a key role in determining the antibacterial efficiency of the prepared ZnO powder.