Synthesis, characterization, and antibacterial study of novel Mg0.9Cr0.05M0.05O (M = Co, Ag, Ni) nanocrystals

Abstract In this work, the structural, electrical, and antibacterial properties of novel Mg0.95Cr0.05O and Mg0.9Cr0.05M0.05O (M = Co, Ag, Ni) nanocrystals were studied. The simple, low-cost, and efficient co-precipitation method was used for the synthesis of required products and characterized by different analytical techniques such as XRD, FTIR, Raman, and I–V. The XRD study inveterated the substitution or incorporation of (M = Co, Ag, Ni) dopants deprived of disturbing the basic FCC structure of magnesium oxide. The average crystalline size and micro-strain were calculated from XRD data using different methods. The FTIR revealed the existence of Mg–O, Mg–O–Mg, and Mg–O-M bond, which confirmed the doping of (M = Co, Ag, Ni) in MgO host lattice. The Raman spectra also confirm the existence of optical phonon modes related to MgO. IV curve exhibits the improvement in the optical conductivity by co-doping. The antibacterial performance was tested against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.