Journal of Antimicrobial Agents

The Antibacterial Activity of Co-Er Ferrite/Graphene Nanocomposites and their Structural and Magnetic Properties

Abstract

Amira S Shafaay*, Ebtesam E Ateia, MK Abdelamksoud and MM Arman

CoEr_0.0.25Fe_1.975O₄, CoFe₂O₄/0.1GR, and CoEr_0.0.25Fe_1.975O₄/0.1GR nanoparticles were synthesized by using citrate auto combustion technique. The structure, morphology, magnetic and thermo-electrical properties of obtained nanocomposites have been examined using the Xray diffraction technique, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. Introducing graphene into the CoFe₂O₄ decreases the particle size and increases the magnetization of the system. The increase in the magnetic moment and hence the saturation magnetization can be attributed to the grafting of functional groups or adatoms to the graphene planes or to the edge bonds. The main mechanism of adatom chemisorption on graphene is breaking the π bonds and producing an additional σ bond. While dual doping with rare earth Er3+/graphene decreases the saturation magnetization of the composites from 70.336 to 36.285 emu/g. However, the decrease in all magnetic parameters for CoEr_0.025Fe_1.975O₄/0.1GR can be attributed to the doping of rare earth ions (Er³⁺) that decreases the parallelism between the magnetic moments at the B site. This decrease offsets to some extent the increase of unpaired spins resulting due to the addition of graphene.

The application of the thermoelectric concept will help to deal with two main global issues, the increasing demand for energy with all the developments and the drastic climate changes. Consequently, the Seebeck coefficient as a function of temperature is scrutinizing. Graphene is one of the main issues for increasing the efficiency of antibacterial activity. It is obvious that the CoFe₂O₄/0.1GR sample has a strong antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aervginosa.