Synthesis of Graphene Oxide Anchored Copper Oxide Nanocomposites for Biological Activity and Environmental Remediation
Abstract
This study investigated azo dye removal and biomedical applications of hydrothermally synthesized copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) and graphene oxide (GO) anchored CuO (CuO/GO) nanocomposites. Then, the synthesized nanomaterial and composites were successfully used for various biological applications, including antimicrobial activity, anti-oxidant activity, etc. The enhanced antibacterial and antifungal activity of the CuO/GO nanocomposite is attributed to its synergistic effects. The antioxidant activity of the synthesized materials and their composites was determined using the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay, Ferrous Ion Chelating Activity (FICA) assay, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and 2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay. The photocatalytic study reveals that a maximum dye adsorption of 47% was observed for Methylene Blue and a maximum photocatalytic degradation of 84% was observed for CuO/GO nano-catalyzed degradation of Methyl Orange. The maximum rate constants (k) for the CuO NPs and CuO/GO nanocomposites were 0.01071 min-1 and 0.0205 min-1, respectively. The recyclability study after four successive recycling photocatalytic dye degradation processes showed the maximum recoverable dye efficiency for both the CuO NPs and CuO/GO nanocomposites, indicating excellent photochemical stability with effective adsorbent properties. Overall, the present study demonstrates promising low-cost and earth-abundant CuO-based photocatalytic materials with excellent dye removal properties and various biomedical applications.