Structural, magnetic, and antibacterial activity of the pure, Zn-doped, and Zn-doped/sugar-assisted coprecipitation synthesized semicrystalline Co3O4 compound

Undoped, Zn-doped, and Zn-doped/sugar-assisted semi-crystalline structures of Co3O4 were made by introducing a facile precipitation approach. The synthesized compounds were tested for surface characteristics, magnetic properties, and antibacterial activity. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed semi-crystalline behavior and spinel structure formation in all synthesized compounds. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization, microstructure formation along with the large agglomeration of spherical particles, uniform distribution of spherical particles, and spherical-flake-like particle structures were noticed for the pure, Zn-doped, and Zn-doped/sugar-assisted Co3O4 samples, respectively. From the vibration sample magnetometry (VSM), Zn-doped/sugar-assisted Co3O4 was found to have relatively lower saturation magnetization when compared to pure Co3O4 and Zn-doped Co3O4 material. The antibacterial performance of the synthesized compounds against the bacteria Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has been tested. The above-mentioned germicidal responses showed a relatively larger inhibition zone for the Zn-doped and Zndoped/sugar-assisted Co3O4 compared to the undoped Co3O4 sample. The obtained diameter inhibition zone values of all synthesised compounds are comparable to the standard positive and negative control.