Ethanol thermal synthesis and antibacterial properties of Ag modified ZnO nanorods

ZnO nanorods modified with Ag were synthesised by ethanol thermal method and were characterised by X-ray diffraction, SEM, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible. Its antibacterial properties and synergistic antibacterial properties with ciprofloxacin hydrochloride were detected with Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli as antibacterial objects. The results show that both of the crystal structure and the microstructure of ZnO nanorods are affected by modifying the molar ratio of Ag. In addition, the antibacterial results indicate that ZnO nanorods modified with Ag have more powerful effects on S. aureus than on E. coli. However, the Ag modifying molar ratio has less impact on antibacterial effects. The antibacterial properties of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride are almost identical to those of S. aureus and E. coli. When ciprofloxacin hydrochloride coexists with Ag modified ZnO nanorods, its antibacterial properties are inhibited due to the coordination reaction between ciprofloxacin hydrochloride and the metal ions from nanoparticles.