Synthesis and fabrication of ZnO-CuO doped PVA and ZnO-PbO doped PVA nanocomposite films by using γ-radiolysis and it's microbial sensor application

The fabricated of ZnO-CuO doped PVA and ZnO-PbO doped PVA nanocomposite thin films for determination of Escherichia coli has been investigated. ZnO-CuO doped PVA and ZnO-PbO doped PVA nanocomposite thin films were fabricated by sol-gel spin coating method and were exposed to Co-60 gamma-radiation source at difference dose rate, between 0 and 30 kGy at room temperature. The resulting materials were investigated using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV-visible spectroscopy and current-voltage (I-V) measurement. The XRD spectra have been performed to observe the formation of crystal phases of all pure ZnO-CuO doped PVA and ZnO-PbO doped PVA thin films. The diffraction patterns reveal good crystalline quality. TEM and FESEM showed the uniform distribution of nanoparticles of metal oxides. Effect of gamma-radiation on thin films decreased the crystallite size, surface morphology and grain size of thin films. UV-visible spectroscopy indicates the energy band gap, E-g decreased as the gamma-radiation increased. The nanocomposite thin films prepared by gamma-radiation can be applied to be used as biosensor materials.