Synthesis of CdO nanopowders by a simple soft chemical method and evaluation of their antimicrobial activities

CdO nanopowders were synthesized by a simple soft chemical method using cadmium acetate as the precursor salt. The as-synthesized nanopowders were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX and TEM analysis. Polycrystalline nature with a (1 1 1) preferential orientation is revealed by the XRD analysis, which was confirmed from the SAED pattern. The presence of Cd and O in the nanopowders is confirmed from the EDX spectrum. The presence of peaks at 417, 499, 620 and 669 cm⁻¹ observed in the FTIR spectrum corresponds to the bonding between Cd and O. Antimicrobial activities were performed against three bacteria and fungi strains by the agar well diffusion method, and from the observed zones of inhibition, it is confirmed that the as-synthesized CdO nanopowders act as an effective antimicrobial agent against pathogenic microorganisms.