Eco-friendly synthesis of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles via lemon juice: morphological, antibacterial, and photocatalytic performance evaluation

The green synthesis method was used in this work to synthesize ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Lemon juice was used as both a reducing and capping agent in the present green synthesis technique. Cu was doped at the levels of 1wt%, 3wt%, and 5wt%. Every sample was characterized for its structural, antibacterial, and photocatalytic characteristics. Fabricated samples showed evidence of a hexagonal wurtzite structure. Escherichia coli O157: H7 was used as the bacteria medium in the disc diffusion method to redact the antibacterial assessment. At varying concentrations, the zone of inhibition for every sample was greater than 20 mm. For most of the concentrations, the sample with 1 wt% Cu doped had the largest inhibitory zone. The degradation of methylene blue dye was used to assess the photocatalytic capabilities of the nanoparticles, with 1wt% doping showing superior performance. Additional doping resulted in a reduction in photocatalytic activity.