Synthesis and characterization of Gadolinium doped ZnS nanoparticles by chemical precipitation method and its antibacterial activity

Semiconductor nanoparticles have attracted a major role in several new technologies. The synthesis and study of nanostructured materials have become a major interdisciplinary area of research. Gadolinium (CH3COO)2. 2H2O (Gd) at different concentrations doped ZnS nanoparticles synthesized by chemical precipitation method. The synthesised nanoparticles were investigated by XRD, SEM, EDAX, HRTEM and UV Visible spectral studies. The XRD result shows that Gadolinium doped ZnS nanoparticles exhibit a zinc blende (cubic) structure with uniform size distribution. The optimum concentration of doping Gd was determined as 3.5% from the XRD study. The EDAX spectrum confirmed the composition of the elements (Zn, Gd and S) in the sample. The Gd ion is in-corporated into the cubic Zinc blend phase of ZnS. The surface morphology of Gd doped ZnS nanoparticles was characterised by SEM. The HR TEM confirmed particle size as 20 nm. The optical band-gap energies of Gd doped ZnS nanoparticles increased as the concentration of Gd increased. The result obtained from the agar diffusion method displayed that the Gd doped ZnS nanoparticles have good antibacterial activity than undoped ZnS nanoparticles