Fabrication and infusion of potent silver doped nano ZnO aimed to advance germicidal efficacy of health and hygiene products

This article explores a strategic approach to fabricating nano scale silver (100–2000 ppm) doped zinc oxide (ZnOS) in a unique Surfactant-Polyol-Assembly (SPA) that acts as a caging agent, restricting the growth of particles. This highly suitable approach for health and hygiene products is among the few works of literature exploring the fabrication and infusion of nano ZnOS to elevate the germicidal efficacy of liquid cleansing products significantly. XRD reveals a hexagonal wurtzite structure having an average crystallite size of 15.14 nm, total crystallinity of 97.62%, and a high specific surface area of 70.68 m2/g. Surface morphological analysis using SEM exhibits monodisperse spherical particles. UV-Vis spectra indicate Burstein-Moss-effect with blue-shift of UV absorbance edge, increase in bandgap energy from 3.55 to 3.64 eV with higher doping. Significant germicidal efficacy of nano ZnOS and infused products having p values < 0.05 compared to AR grade ZnO are established against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens using zone-of-inhibition (ZOI) and European standard EN 1276. Infused products with 0.2% of ZnOS exhibit ZOI up to 13.25 mm with a log reduction of 2.13, while nano ZnOS 2000 ppm shows ZOI up to 11.75 mm with a log reduction of 5.41, which corresponds to >99.999% germ kill.