Biosynthesis of Ag-doped ZnO nanorods using template Bacillus sp. and polyethylene glycol via sol-gel-hydrothermal methods for antifungal application

Synthesis of Ag-ZnO nanorods (Ag-ZnO NR) utilizing biological materials, specifically the extracellular enzymes of Bacillus sp. Combined with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a nanorod pattern template has been proposed. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) of varying relative molecular mass (Mr): 6000, 8000, and 10000 was used. Characterization of Ag-ZnO NR with ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV–vis) revealed absorption at (λ_max) = 300 - 330 nm, a blue shift region that was identical to the growth of the Ag-ZnO crystal nucleus. Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) profile of Bacillus sp. revealed high intensity at wave number 1600 -1650 cm⁻¹, indicating the amine NH strain in the extracellular enzyme Bacillus sp.; 1430 – 1387 cm⁻¹, indicating -CH₃ strain, and 1050 cm⁻¹ indicating CO in PEG. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed high intensity at 2θ: 31.75°; 34.41°; 36.25° indicates hexagonal wurtzite ZnO (ICDS-ZnO 2017). In contrast, Ag-doped ZnO exhibited high intensity at 2θ: 38. 07°; 44.28°; 66.35° (ICDS-Ag) with crystallite size of 21.85 nm. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed nanorod and spherical particles of 198.96 nm of Ag-ZnO NR PEG-10000. The antifungal effectiveness that was measured based on the number of free radicals •O₂ and •OH in the photocatalytic reaction using a p-benzoquinone scavenger reached 85±0.7 %. The highest antifungal activity was detected with an inhibition zone of 3.65-3.04 mm. This finding is very promising for the green synthesis of ZnO and its application as future antifungal application in textile industries.