Biofabrication, characterization and evaluation of photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency of <i>Syzygium alternifolium</i> leaf extract mediated copper oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

The present study was aimed at biofabrication of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) using Syzygium alternifolium leaf extract and evaluation of their dye degradation potential. The morphological studies of CuO NPs were carried out using different spectroscopic and microscopic tools. For synthesis purpose, Syzygium alternifolium leaves were collected from Nagatheertham area of Tirumala forest, Andhra Pradesh, India. Upon synthesis, the gradual color change from brown to dark brown was occurred and a broad peak obtained at 282 nm with UV–vis spectroscopy specified the presence of copper oxide. The broad peaks at 3310 and 1638 cm−1 wavenumber, as portrayed by FT-IR analysis corroborate the presence of phenols and primary amines. It indicates the involvement of these two functional groups in capping and stabilization of nanoparticles. The DLS and the Zeta potential studies confirm 11.7 nm average size and −43.5 mV of Zeta potential value of the nanoparticles. The 08 Bragg reflections obtained from XRD study confirm the identity of synthesized nanoparticles as CuO NPs and their average size was estimated as 17.2 nm. The microscopic tools viz AFM, SEM and TEM revealed the spherical shape and 3 to 85 nm size of the particles. These CuO NPs were well settled in non-agglomerated state with poly-dispersed condition. The dye degradation potential of the CuO NPs was found to increase with the increase in time of exposure to sunlight. From the result it can be inferred that medicinal plants can be exploited for the synthesis of nanoparticles and these biofabricated nanoparticles may find various applications in nano based industries.