Synthesis, characterizations and antifungal activities of copper oxide and differentially doped copper oxide nanostructures

Abstract

Nanoparticles of Co, Ni, and Fe doped copper oxide along with nanoparticles of bare copper oxide were prepared using a co-precipitation reaction. The XRD pattern suggested the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles with a crystallite size of 28 nm and these size calculations were complimented by TEM results where grain shape nanostructures were visible with a size around 20–40 nm. The EDAX results showed the presence of Co, Ni, and Fe in doped copper oxide nanoparticles thus confirming doping in the nanoparticles. The FTIR and Uv–Visible spectra for the nanoparticles were recorded to complement the chemical structure of the nanoparticles as established by XRD and TEM. The optical band gap for these nanoparticles was also calculated and the nanoparticles were tested against some clinical fungal species to record their antimicrobial activities.