Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Using Leaf Extracts of Dillenia Indica and Mikania Micrantha: Investigation of their Potential as Photocatalysts and Antibacterial Agents

Abstract

AbstractThe fields of biomedicine and catalysis have both shown a great deal of interest in copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs). Green synthesis methods are being frequently employed to develop highly active CuONPs. This research investigates the potential photocatalytic and antibacterial applications of two CuONPs that were synthesized utilizing extracts from Dillenia indica (D‐CuONPs) and Mikania micrantha (M‐CuONPs) leaves. Analysis using electron microscopy revealed that CuONPs are uniformly spherical and average size around 15 nm. The development of single‐phase CuONPs with a monoclinic structure is shown by X‐ray diffraction studies. The FTIR peaks at 695 cm−1 and 860 cm−1 represent a stretching of Cu−O, signifying the formation of CuO nanostructure. The EDX profiles stated that the CuONPs are correlated with compliantly intensified Cu and O signals. Under solar irradiation, around 90 % of congo red (CR) dye was degraded by both CuONPs in 120 min, with the rate constants of 0.0187 and 0.0174 min−1, respectively. Furthermore, CuONPs have excellent antibacterial activity against bacteria belonging to both Gram classes. Overall, CuONPs hold great potential for inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria and for degrading organic dyes in the presence of sunlight. As such, they can be manufactured on a large scale using plant sources.