Green synthesis of Cu/CuO nanoparticles using <i>Cuscuta reflexa</i> plant as an innovative organic insecticide

Cu/CuO nanoparticles (NPs) have received extensive attention owing to their tremendous antifungal and antibacterial properties. Cu/CuO NPs are used in diverse fields, viz. electronics, catalysis, photonics, biosensing, optoelectronics and many more. Herein, we described the green synthesis of Cu/CuO NPs using Cuscuta reflexa (Amarvel) plant material at room temperature. The prepared NPs were characterized by routine technique, viz. XRD, UV-Vis, SEM and TEM. The typical size found was merely 7–10[Formula: see text]nm using the TEM technique. The as-prepared solution of NPs was tested against the Diptera larval nymph of mosquitoes. These mosquitoes breed in monsoon (rainy season) in stagnant water. It is observed that NPs were very effective against these larvae, which were killed overnight when just four drops of the as-prepared NPs solution were directly added to a 10[Formula: see text]ml water sample containing mosquito larvae. Overall, the biosynthesized Cu/CuO NPs showed good insecticidal activity against the parasitic disease malaria-causing Anopheles mosquitoes in the larval stage itself. We believe the outcome will lead to a new era in the preparation of innovative organic insecticides.