The antibacterial properties of nano ZnMoO 4 powder

ZnMoO 4 nanoparticles with two different morphologies were successfully synthesized by the industrial dry method. Both nano-ZnMoO 4 belong to α crystalline phase, and the valence state of Mo was verified to be + 6. The polyhedral-shaped particles and a mixture of polyhedral and rod-shaped particles exists, respectively. The average size of ZnMoO 4 nanoparticles with polyhedral structure was 50 nm in diameter, while the diameter of the cross-section of ZnMoO 4 nanoparticles (NPs) with rod-like structure was less than 50 nm. To evaluate the antibacterial properties of two materials, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of two kinds of nano-ZnMoO 4 against staphylococcus aureus were determined using an agar medium. The results showed that the MIC and MBC values of polyhedral nano-ZnMoO 4 were 20 ppm and 40 ppm; the MIC and MBC values of rod-shaped and polyhedral hybrid nano-ZnMoO 4 were 10 ppm and 20 ppm, respectively. The antibacterial effect of both nanoparticles was better than that of conventional ZnMoO 4 with the size above 1 µm at the concentration of 200 ppm. This confirms the crystalline structure in relation to the crystal size/morphology and the concentration of powder in suspension can influence on the antibacterial efficiency. Furthermore, these two shaped nano-ZnMoO 4 samples had different atomic percentages, so different spatial hinge structures were the important reason for the unequal antibacterial performance of these shaped nano-ZnMoO 4 powder.