Annealing effects on NiO nanoparticles for magnetic behaviour and antibacterial activity Available to Purchase

The aim of this work is to synthesise nickel (II) oxide (NiO) nanoparticles through the co-precipitation method and study their applications. Thermal gravimetric analysis was used to measure the thermal stability of the synthesised nanoparticles. The X-ray diffraction patterns of nickel (II) oxide showed a face-centred cubic structure and an average crystallite size of 16–36 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectra confirmed the formation of Ni–O bonds. The surface morphology was analysed using scanning electron microscopy. The mean particle size was about 50.76 nm, measured from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images. The elements present in the samples were identified using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Vibrating-sample magnetometer analysis was used to determine the changes in magnetic behaviour of nickel (II) oxide nanoparticles due to an annealing temperature increase. As regards the antibacterial activities of nickel (II) oxide nanoparticles against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains, it was found that the zone of inhibition expanded as the nanoparticle concentration increased.