Tin Oxide (SnO2)-Decorated Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO)-Based Hydroelectric Cells to Generate Large Current

One-step preparation, characterization, and anticancer potential of ZnFe2O4/RGO nanocomposites

Zinc ferrite nanoparticles (ZnFe2O4 NPs) have attracted extensive attention for their diverse applications including sensing, waste-water treatment, and biomedicine. The novelty of the present work is the fabrication of ZnFe2O4/RGO NCs by using a one-step hydrothermal process to assess the influence of RGO doping on the physicochemical properties and anticancer efficacy of ZnFe2O4 NPs. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray(EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-vis spectroscopy, and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy were employed to characterize prepared pure ZnFe2O4 NPs and ZnFe2O4/ RGO NCs. XRD results showed that the synthesized samples have high crystallinity. Furthermore, the average crystal sizes of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) and ZnFe2O4/RGO nanocomposites (NCs) were 51.08 nm and 54.36 nm, respectively. SEM images revealed that pure ZnFe2O4 NPs were spherical in shape with uniformly loaded on the surface of the RGO nanosheet. XPS and EDX analysis confirmed the elemental compositions of ZnFe2O4/RGO NCs. Elemental mapping of SEM shows that the elemental compositions (Zn, Fe, O, and C) were homogeneously distributed in ZnFe2O4/RGO NCs. The intensity of FT-IR spectra depicted that pure ZnFe2O4 NPs were successfully anchored into the RGO nanosheet. An optical study suggested that the band gap energy of ZnFe2O4/RGO NCs (1.61 eV) was lower than that of pure ZnFe2O4 NPs (1.96 eV). PL spectra indicated that the recombination rate of the ZnFe2O4/ RGO NCs was lower than ZnFe2O4 NPs. MTT assay was used to evaluate the anticancer performance of ZnFe2O4 /RGO NCs and pure ZnFe2O4NPs against human cancer cells. In vitro study indicates that ZnFe2O4 /RGO NCs have higher anticancer activity against human breast (MCF-7) and lung (A549) cancer cells as compared to pure form ZnFe2O4 NPs. This work suggests that RGO doping enhances the anticancer activity of ZnFe2O4NPs by tuning its optical behavior. This study warrants future research on potential therapeutic applications of these types of nanocomposites.