Effect of the molar ratio of (Ni(2+) and Fe(3+)) on the magnetic, optical and antibacterial properties of ternary metal oxide CdO–NiO–Fe(2)O(3) nanocomposites

In this work, the effect of the molar ratio of (Ni(2+) and Fe(3+)) on the properties of CdO–NiO–Fe(2)O(3) nanocomposites was investigated. The synthesis of CdO–NiO–Fe(2)O(3) nanocomposites was carried out by self-combustion. XRD, UV–Vis, PL and VSM were used to describe the physical properties of the materials. The results showed significant progress in structural and optical properties supporting antibacterial activity. For all samples, the particle size decreased from 28.96 to 24.95 nm with increasing Ni(2+) content and decreasing Fe(3+) content, as shown by the XRD pattern, which also shows the crystal structure of cubic CdO, cubic NiO, and cubic γ-Fe(2)O(3) spinel. The Ni(2+) and Fe(3+) contents in the CdO–NiO–Fe(2)O(3) nanocomposites have also been shown to enhance the ferromagnetic properties. Due to the significant coupling between Fe(2)O(3) and NiO, the coercivity H(c) values of the samples increase from 66.4 to 266 Oe. The potential of the nanocomposites for antibacterial activity was investigated against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Moraxella catarrhalis) bacteria. Comparison of P. aeruginosa with E. coli, S. aureus and M. catarrhalis showed that it has a stronger antibacterial activity with a ZOI of 25 mm.