Facile synthesis of H-CoMoO4 nanosheets for antibacterial approaches

The hydrated phase of cobalt molybdate (H-CoMoO 4 ) is commonly regarded as a precursor to the anhydrous phases α -CoMoO 4 and β -CoMoO 4 . As few studies have focused on the hydrated phase, its properties should be explored. We aimed to investigate a simple method for obtaining nanosheets from a phase of CoMoO 4 ·xH 2 O that aggregates to form micrometric spheroids with high surface area for antibacterial behavior. A hydrothermal synthetic route was used in the presence of urea to obtain the product, which was characterized by X-ray diffractometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm for surface area analysis. The material was a finely divided purple powder. Its surface area of 22.7 m 2 g −1 was determined by BET method, and its pore size distribution (mean 30 nm) was calculated by the NLDFT method. The bacterial activity of the material was evidenced by AFM, verified by the broth micro-dilution method, evidenced that H-CoMoO 4 can inhibit the growth of E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa strains, the latter achieving the best effect with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of 1.56 mg mL −1 , 1.56 mg mL −1 , and 0.39 mg mL −1 , respectively. This work showed the bacteriostatic effect of cobalt molybdate on surfaces for a future application in environments that facilitate microorganism proliferation. Graphic abstract