Surface morphology, optical properties and antibacterial activity of zinc oxide films synthesized via spray pyrolysis

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) films were synthesized using spray pyrolysis using glass as substrate at substrate temperature of 400°C. The precursor used is an aqueous solution of ZnCl2. The deposition was done in ambient conditions. It was observed that the zinc oxide films are textured. The films yielded 0.3 transmittance in the visible light spectrum as shown by the UV-vis spectrophotometry data. The FT-IR data implied that the films are of high purity. The ZnO films were subjected to bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphyllococcus aureus in agar diffusion assays, and the antibacterial activity was quantified by measuring the zone of inhibition created by the films. The ZnO films exhibited low antibacterial activity to E. coli and S. aureus.