Structural and magnetic properties of glass-ceramics containing silver and iron oxide

Glass-ceramics with a nominal composition of 25SiO(2)-(50-x)CaO-15P(2)O(5)-8Fe(2)O(3)-2ZnO-xAg (where x = 0,2 and 4 mol%) have been prepared. Structural features of glass-ceramics have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. Magnetic properties were studied using vibrating sample magnetometer and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Ca-3(PO4)(2), hematite and magnetite are formed as major crystalline phases. The microstructure reveals the formation of 25-30 nm size particles. Mossbauer spectroscopy has shown the relaxation of magnetic particles. Saturation magnetization value is increased with an increase of Ag content up to 4 mol%, which has been attributed to the formation of magnetically ordered particles. The antibacterial response was found to depend on Ag ions concentration in the glass matrix and samples with 4 mol% Ag in glass matrix have shown effective antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.