Pure and Al-Bi Co-doped SnO2 nanoparticles as bacterial growth inhibitors

Abstract The present work is aimed to prepare un-doped and aluminium-bismuth co-doped tin-oxide nanoparticles with 2 weight percentages (each co-dopant 2 wt %) and 4 weight percentages (each 4 wt %) by employing a co-precipitation method. Tetragonal rutile crystal structure of the synthesized materials was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction, bandgap energy by UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectral analysis, chemical bonding and the position of O-Sn-O by Fourier transform infrared spectrum and morphology through scanning electron microscopy. The photoluminescence spectrum of synthesized nanoparticles shows emission peaks at 490, 520 and 536 nm. Antibacterial activity of Al-Bi co-doped (4 wt %) SnO2 nanoparticles shows a higher zone of inhibition in the range of 20–36 mm against Staphyllococcus aureus, 25–34 against Bacillus cereus and 30–41 against Escherichia Coli than pure SnO2 nanoparticles. The developed oxygen vacancies due to the addition of dopants increase the generation of reactive oxygen species which increases the inhibition capability of tin-oxide nanoparticles against various bacterial species.