The present study aims to carry out synthesis and characterization of Te-doped ZnO nanoparticles using an easy, low cost and solution-free thermo-mechanical method. The structural, morphological, optoelectronic characteristics of the as-prepared Te-doped ZnO NPs were analyzed by several techniques. From the FE-SEM studies, both pristine and Te-doped ZnO showed tube-shaped morphology when ground for 60 min. Remarkably, different grinding times caused the change in the shape of spherical ZnO NPs to tube-like ZnO. SEM images illustrate that spherical-like and hexagonal tube-like ZnO were prepared with grinding times 30 min and 60 min, respectively. XRD of Te-doped ZnO NPs (0.5wt%, 3wt%, 5wt%) revealed crystallite size of 10–20 nm. XPS results showed evidence for the binding energies of ZnO and Te. Disk diffusion assay showed that Te-doped ZnO NPs demonstrated good antibacterial activity against E. coli DH5α cells compared with pristine ZnO NPs. The mechanism of antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs was due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing lipid peroxidation of the bacterial cell wall and resulting in the leakage of cellular contents and cell death. The photoexcited electrons were trapped by the oxygen vacancies and prevented the interaction between oxygen available on the exterior of the ZnO NPs and photoexcited electrons. This results in reducing the amount of ROS generation and subsequently lower antibacterial activity.

本研究旨在使用简单、低成本和无溶液的热机械方法合成和表征 Te 掺杂的 ZnO 纳米粒子。通过多种技术分析了所制备的 Te 掺杂 ZnO NPs 的结构、形态和光电特性。从 FE-SEM 研究中，原始和 Te 掺杂的 ZnO 在研磨 60 分钟时都显示出管状形态。值得注意的是，不同的研磨时间导致球形 ZnO NPs 的形状改变为管状 ZnO。SEM 图像表明，球状和六边形管状 ZnO 分别用 30 分钟和 60 分钟的研磨时间制备。Te 掺杂的 ZnO NPs（0.5wt%、3wt%、5wt%）的 XRD 显示微晶尺寸为 10-20 nm。XPS 结果显示了 ZnO 和 Te 结合能的证据。大肠杆菌 DH5α细胞与原始 ZnO NPs 相比。ZnO NPs的抗菌活性机制是由于产生活性氧（ROS），引起细菌细胞壁脂质过氧化，导致细胞内容物泄漏和细胞死亡。光激发电子被氧空位捕获并阻止了 ZnO NPs 外部可用的氧与光激发电子之间的相互作用。这导致减少 ROS 的产生量并随后降低抗菌活性。