Role of Defects in Tailoring the Structural, Optical, and Antibacterial Properties of Y/Cu Co-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles


ÖZÇELİK S.

Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s13369-026-11271-5
  • Dergi Adı: Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, zbMATH
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Antibacterial properties, Defects, Optical properties, Refractive index, Sol–gel method, ZnO
  • Hakkari Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The sol–gel technique was employed to create Zn0.99−xCu0.01YxO (x = 0.00 to 0.05 with 0.01 increments) nanoparticles, and examined for potential applications in optoelectronics, biomedicine, and sensors. The influence of defects formed during synthesis in Y/Cu doped ZnO nanoparticles on their antibacterial, optical, and structural characteristics was explored. All Y/Cu co-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited single-phase structures. The sizes of the Y/Cu co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were observed to range from 2 to 50 nm. UV analysis showed that the reflectance intensities and Eg values of Zn0.99−xYxCu0.01O (x = 0.00–0.05) nanoparticles ranged from 69 to 91% and from 3.20 eV to 3.263 eV, respectively. The defect types in Y/Cu co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were examined using photoluminescence (PL) spectra, which revealed ultraviolet emission in addition to a broad band including violet, blue, and red areas, which were ascribed to excitonic and defect-related emissions. The synthesis conditions, as well as the doping components and ratios, had a substantial impact on these emissions. The energy band of Y/Cu co-doped ZnO nanoparticles was computed, and their effects on optical characteristics were examined. A different model was used to compute the refractive index. Gram-positive S. aureus and gram-negative E. coli were utilized to examine the antibacterial properties of Zn0.99−xCu0.01YxO nanoparticles.