Direct and indirect sonication affect differently the microstructure and the morphology of ZnO nanoparticles: Optical behavior and its antibacterial activity

In the present study, the sono-synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) was performed by simple, low-cost, and the environmentally friendly method. The synthesis of zinc oxide as an antibacterial agent was performed by an ultrasonic bath (low intensity) for the indirect sonication and a horn system (high intensity) for the direct sonication. The samples synthesized by these two kinds of sonication were compared with each other. Crystallographic structures and the morphologies of the resultant powders were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD patterns showed that both ZnO samples were crystallized in their pure phase. The TEM images confirmed that the morphologies of the products were completely different from each other. Based on the obtained analysis, the probable growth mechanisms were proposed for crystallization of both samples. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized species was evaluated by the colony count method against Escherichia coli O157:H7. Moreover, the optical behavior of the samples was studied by UV-vis spectroscopy and the variation of the ZnO band gap was compared.