Impact of Silver Substitution on Structural, Magnetic, Optical, and Antibacterial Properties of Cobalt Ferrite

Published: January 2022
Journal: SSRN Electronic Journal
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4167650

Silver-doped Cobalt Ferrite nanoparticles (AgₓCo₁₋ₓFe₂O₄) with varying concentrations (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) were synthesized using a hydrothermal technique. The structural analysis through X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of the spinel phase of CoFe₂O₄ and the successful incorporation of Ag ions into the spinel structure. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy further validated the spinel phase, with characteristic bands observed at 874 cm⁻¹ and 651 cm⁻¹, corresponding to tetrahedral and octahedral sites, respectively.

The optical properties of the nanoparticles revealed an increase in band gap energy with higher concentrations of silver doping. The energy band gap values for the synthesized nanoparticles were determined to be 3.58 eV, 3.08 eV, 2.93 eV, and 2.84 eV for x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15, respectively.

Magnetic studies indicated that substituting Co²⁺ ions with nonmagnetic Ag²⁺ ions influenced the saturation magnetization (Ms). The recorded Ms values were 48.36, 29.06, 40.69, and 45.85 emu/g for x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15, respectively.

The antibacterial activity of CoFe₂O₄ and Ag-doped CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles was evaluated against Acinetobacter lwoffii and Moraxella species. The nanoparticles exhibited significant antibacterial properties, with the highest inhibition zone observed for x = 0.15, measuring 8 × 8 cm.

These findings suggest that the synthesized Ag-doped Cobalt Ferrite nanoparticles are promising candidates for applications in memory storage devices and antibacterial treatments.