Low-temperature one-step synthesis of cerium doped ZnO nanoparticles for antibacterial application

The synthesis of cerium doped ZnO nanoparticles and their photocatalytic antibacterial application. • A facile in-situ doping strategy enables the uniform incorporation of cerium into ZnO nanoparticles . • The cerium (10 mol%) doped ZnO showed superior antibacterial efficiency compared to pure ZnO. • The bacterial death process was quasi-dynamically monitored and the bactericidal mechanism was revealed. Inorganic antibacterial materials, particularly ZnO nanoparticles , exhibit significant potential in combating bacterial infections due to their good biocompatibility, chemical stability and low toxicity. However, the tedious synthesis process and low separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers are two major challenges for ZnO nanoparticles to be widely deployed. In this study, a microchannel reactor was employed for the one-step synthesis of ZnO based nanoparticles in low-temperature (below 85 °C) aqueous-phase. Moreover, by in-situ doping the ZnO structure with 10 mol% cerium (10Ce-ZnO), the higher charge separation efficiency and better broad-spectrum antibacterial properties were observed compared to pure ZnO nanoparticles. Thanks to the scale-up production, 10Ce-ZnO nanoparticles can be put into real life application as ceramic glaze additives (1 wt%) and achieve 99.99 % bactericidal properties against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Last but not least, an in-depth analysis of the interaction mechanisms between the material and bacteria was conducted.