Sustainable sol–gel synthesis of zinc ferrite nanomaterial using natural surfactant with potent antimicrobial properties

Zinc ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized via green gelation route employing a natural surfactant as a sustainable stabilizing additive. The usage of natural surfactants minimized the toxicity thereby offering an eco-friendly approach to synthesis of nanomaterials. The synthesized nanomaterials were systematically characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), FT-IR, SEM-EDAX, UV-visible, and VSM techniques. PXRD peaks reveal the formation of cubic spinel structure with no impurities. FT-IR spectrum confirmed the characteristic functional groups present in spinel ferrite. The prepared nanomaterials showed agglomeration with wider flaky grains from SEM analysis. The EDAX confirmed the elemental compositions present in zinc ferrite nanomaterials. VSM studies showed low saturation magnetization, coercivity and remnant magnetization. The absorption maxima for zinc ferrite nanomaterial around 318 nm corresponds to the charge transfer from ligand to metal center. Besides, antibacterial and antifungal studies were evaluated using agar-disk diffusion method against pathogenic strains.