Synthesis and Characterization of Sr-Doped ZnSe Nanoparticles for Catalytic and Biological Activities

• Main Authors: V. Beena, S. L. Rayar, S. Ajitha, Awais Ahmad, Munirah D. Albaqami, Fatmah Ahmed Ali Alsabar, Mika Sillanpää
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: Sr-doped ZnSe nanoparticles; co-precipitation; antibacterial; dye degradation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/16/2189

The development of cost-effective and ecofriendly approaches toward water purification and antibacterial activity is a hot research topic in this era. Purposely, strontium-doped zinc selenide (Sr-doped ZnSe) nanoparticles, with different molar ratios of Sr²⁺ cations (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1), were prepared via the co-precipitation method, in which sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) and 2-mercaptoethanol were employed as reducing and stabilizing agents, respectively. The ZnSe cubic structure expanded by Sr²⁺ cations was indicated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The absorption of the chemical compounds on the surface was observed via Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The optical orientation was measured by ultraviolet–visible diffused reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) analysis. The surface area, morphology, and elemental purity were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses. The oxidation state and valency of the synthesized nanoparticles were analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Sr-doped ZnSe nanoparticles were investigated for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO), and their antibacterial potential was investigated against different bacterial strains. The antibacterial activity examined against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i> implied the excellent biological activity of the nanoparticles. Moreover, the Sr-doped ZnSe nanoparticles were evaluated by the successful degradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. Therefore, Sr-doped ZnSe nanoparticles have tremendous potential in biological and water remediation fields.