Cu-doped ZnO Nanoparticles Research Articles

Rubia-Inspired biogenic Synthesis of Cu-ZnO Nanocomposites: Dual-modelling of visible light Photocatalytic Degradation and Antibacterial Assessment

Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesised using Rubia cordifolia root extract and their photocatalytic degradation and antimicrobial properties were evaluated. Among all dopant concentrations, UV-VIS analysis of 5% Cu-ZnO NPs revealed a clean shift towards the visible range with a reduction in the band gap from 3.2 eV for pristine ZnO to 2.98 eV. Formed NPs were identified as wurtzite crystal structure (size of 16.67 nm) having a functional group of ZnO, using XRD and FTIR analysis. Highest photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of both Alizarine Red (AZ) (80%) and Rhodamine B (RhB) (82%) dyes were by 5% Cu-ZnO NPs. Statistical modelling and optimization were conducted using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), resulting in development of models having >90% predictive accuracy. Furthermore, the biogenic Cu-ZnO nanoparticles exhibits effective antimicrobial properties against both gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria. The biogenic synthesis approach demonstrated enhanced photocatalytic efficiency and antimicrobial properties, suggesting its potential for environmentally friendly applications.

Antibacterial activity and structural properties of gelatin-based sol-gel synthesized Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles; promising material for biomedical applications

This study investigates the antibacterial activity and spectral characteristics of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via the gelatin-based sol-gel method, focusing on their potential biomedical applications. Zn₁₋ₓCuₓO nanoparticles (x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) were fabricated using this method. The incorporation of copper dopants into the ZnO matrix significantly influences both the crystalline structure and spectral properties of the nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the presence of a wurtzite structure without any pyrochlore phase. The broadening of spectral features indicates modifications in lattice parameters and elastic constants. XRD results reveal that adding Cu to the ZnO lattice causes a decrease in crystallite size from 32 to 18 nm. Transmission electron microscopy shows spherical-shaped ZnO nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 30 to 40 nm. Moreover, Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibit considerable inhibition against bacterial growth. Adding Cu enhances the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles, suggesting their potential in biomedical applications. Overall, these findings highlight the promising prospects of sol-gel synthesized Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles in the biomedical field.

Biogenically Synthesized ZnO and Cu-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles: Effect of Cu-Dopent Concentration and Annealing on Morphology and Optical Properties

In this work, ZnO nanoparticles and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles were biogenically synthesized using precipitation method in <i>Cissus quadrangularis</i> plant extract medium. The influence of Cu dopant on the crystalline structure, optical properties, and morphology of ZnO was investigated. The samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, UV–vis spectroscopy and SEM. XRD patterns confirmed the wurtzite formation of doped and undoped ZnO nanoparticles. The average crystallite size of the neat and Cu-doped samples was ~18 nm irrespective of the amount of dopant. The annealing process enhanced the size of both the neat and Cu-doped samples. However, the influence on the size is less prominent in the Cu-doped sample than in the neat sample. The UV-visible spectral analysis shows that all the synthesized doped and undoped nano zinc oxides absorb at ~400nm. The band gap energy of Cu-doped ZnO particles was greater for unannealed samples whereas it was appreciably lowered on annealing for Cu-doped samples. SEM analysis shows rod-like morphology for the unannealed and annealed undoped zinc oxides. It is changed to flower-like morphology with the addition of 5mM Cu<sup>2+</sup> and then to nano sheet-like structure with the incorporation of higher amount of Cu<sup>2+</sup> ions. Annealing of zinc oxide samples leads to the smoothening of the surfaces with a change in morphology for the ZnO nanoparticles.

Designing copper-doped zinc oxide nanoparticle by tobacco stem extract-mediated green synthesis for solar cell efficiency and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

This study presents the green synthesis of copper-doped zinc oxide (Cu-doped ZnO) nanoparticles using tobacco stem (TS) extract. The environmentally friendly synthesis method ensures distinct features, high efficiency, and applicability in various fields, particularly in solar cell technology and photocatalytic applications. ZnO nanostructures are investigated due to their unique properties, cost-effectiveness, and broad range of applications. The nanoparticles are synthesized with varying Cu concentrations, and their structural, morphological, and compositional characteristics are thoroughly analyzed. The Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibit improved properties, such as increased surface area and reduced particle size, attributed to the incorporation of Cu dopants. The green synthesis approach using TS extract serves as a stabilizing agent and avoids the toxicity associated with chemical methods. Characterization techniques including SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, and XRD confirm the successful synthesis of the nanoparticles. Photocatalytic degradation studies reveal that the 5% Cu-doped ZnO exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity against methylene blue, attributed to synergistic effects between Cu and ZnO, including oxygen vacancy and electron–hole pair recombination rate suppression. The photocatalytic mechanism involves the generation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals, leading to methylene blue degradation. Furthermore, the Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles demonstrate promising photovoltaic performance, with the optimal efficiency observed at a 5% Cu concentration. The study suggests that Cu-doped ZnO has the potential to enhance solar cell efficiency and could serve as an alternative material in solar cell applications. Future research should focus on refining Cu-doped ZnO for further improvements in solar energy conversion efficiency

Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of pure and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared under Co-precipitation method

The key goal of this study is to innovate the pure and 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 wt.% of Cudoped ZnO NPs through co-precipitation technique. PXRD pattern shows the hexagonal crystal structure with no any phase impurity were observed for all the synthesized samples. From UV-Vis DRS spectra, band gap was obtained as 3.18, 3.24, 3.29 and 3.33 eV respectively for undoped, Cu-doped ZnO NPs (0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 wt.%). From SEM analysis, the agglomeration of rod-like morphology for pure ZnO NPs, spherical-like morphology for Cu-doped ZnO NPs (0.05 wt.%) and flake-like morphology for Cu-doped ZnO NPs (0.10 wt.%) and flower-like morphology for Cu-doped ZnO NPs (0.15 wt.%). The photocatalytic performance of the synthesized NPs was studied by the dye degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) under UV irradiation. The result exposed that, 0.15 wt.% of Cu-doped ZnO NPs is found to have efficient degradation candidate materials.

Visible Light Induced Photocatalytic Removal of Methylene Blue Using Cu-tunable p-type ZnO Nanoparticles.

Removal of phototoxicity and zootoxicity pollutants from the aqueous environment is of great importance to human and aquatic life. Copper-tunable p-type zinc oxide (Cu-ZnO) photocatalysts have been prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method. The structural, morphological, elemental and optical properties of the obtained catalysts were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. The diffraction patterns of the as-synthesized catalysts were matched with that of the hexagonal wurtzite structure for the standard ZnO nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared Cu-doped ZnO catalyst was evaluated using methylene blue (MB) dye under various conditions. The effect of operational parameters such as MB initial concentration, catalyst dosage, and solution pH was optimized using a face central composite design (FCCD) of the response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum photodegradation efficiency of 98.00% was found at 0.30g/L catalyst dose, 10.00mg/L initial concentration of MB and initial pH at 6.00. The degradation model was statistically remarkable with p < 0.0001% in which the MB initial concentration and solution pH were the most significant variables influencing the removal of MB over the Cu tunable p-type ZnO photocatalyst under visible light irradiation. Finally, the photocatalytic degradation of MB using the undoped and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles was nicely fitted pseudo-first-order kinetics scheme.

Facile Synthesis of Cu-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles for the Enhanced Photocatalytic Disinfection of Bacteria and Fungi.

In this study, Cu-doped ZnO was prepared via the facile one-pot solvothermal approach. The structure and composition of the synthesized samples were characterized by XRD (X-ray diffraction), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analyses, revealing that the synthesized samples consisted of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy analysis showed that Cu-doping significantly improves the visible light absorption properties of ZnO. The photocatalytic capacity of the synthesized samples was tested via the disinfection of Escherichia coli, with the Cu-ZnO presenting enhanced disinfection compared to pure ZnO. Of the synthesized materials, 7% Cu-ZnO exhibited the best photocatalytic performance, for which the size was ~9 nm. The photocurrent density of the 7% Cu-ZnO samples was also significantly higher than that of pure ZnO. The antifungal activity for 7% Cu-ZnO was also tested on the pathogenic fungi of Fusarium graminearum. The macroconidia of F. graminearum was treated with 7% Cu-ZnO photocatalyst for 5 h, resulting in a three order of magnitude reduction at a concentration of 105 CFU/mL. Fluorescence staining tests were used to verify the survival of macroconidia before and after photocatalytic treatment. ICP-MS was used to confirm that Cu-ZnO met national standards for cu ion precipitation, indicating that Cu-ZnO are environmentally friendly materials.

ZnO nanoparticles with altered structural and optical traits by Cu and Li doping for elevated photocatalytic activity toward organic pollutants

Doping of copper and lithium on zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs) has attracted a great deal of attention due to their morphological change, large surface-to-volume ratio, and enhanced physical properties. In this study, Cu-doped ZnO NPs (CZO) and Li-doped ZnO NPs (LZO) were synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method. The obtained nanostructures were characterized using analytical techniques such as XRD, UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The XRD analysis of CZO and LZO revealed hexagonal nanorod structures possessing a dominant peak at (101) hkl plane. From SEM imaging, it was observed that the doping concentration of Cu- and Li- onto the ZnO nanoparticles had an effect on the morphology and size of the obtained nanorods. EDAX analysis confirmed the presence of Cu and Li ions in the ZnO lattice structures. The photocatalytic degradation of CZO and LZO was performed using two dyes namely Rhodamine B and methylene orange under tungsten bulb light source. CZO and LZO showed a degradation of 56.51%0.61% and 63.97%% for Rhodamine B; 45.68%0.39% and 40.01%% of degradation was observed for methylene orange dye.

Structural, optical and photocatalytic properties under UV-A and visible lights of Co–, Ni- and Cu-doped ZnO nanomaterials. Comparative study

In this investigation, Co–, Ni- and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared using precipitation methods. The characterization of the as-prepared nanomaterials was carried out using XRD, FT-IR, DRS, XPS and SEM. The XRD analysis showed that the insertion of foreign metal ions into the matrix of ZnO caused a slight shift of the positions of (100), (002) and (101) diffraction peaks of ZnO towards the lower 2θ, by comparison with pure ZnO. The DRS results showed that Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles absorb wavelengths higher than 400 nm. The estimated band gaps (eV) were 2.48, 3.17 and 3.14 for 10 %Co-ZnO, 10 %Ni-ZnO and 10 %Cu-ZnO respectively. The XPS results showed the existence of two valence states for Co and Ni (Co2+/Co3+ and Ni2+/Ni3+) while Cu exists in the form of Cu2+. The photocatalytic efficiency was evaluated under UV and visible irradiations in aqueous solution using methyl orange (MO) as an organic pollutant probe molecule. The results showed that, under visible light, the MO degradation increased significantly by doping ZnO (10 %Co-ZnO: 33.2 %; 10 %Ni-ZnO: 19.8 % and 10 %Cu-ZnO: 52.5 %) by comparison with undoped ZnO (9.3 %). The important increase in photocatalytic activity observed for the doped ZnO by comparison with pure ZnO, particularly for 10 %Cu-ZnO, has been linked to a synergistic effect of both the band gap narrowing and the increase in the lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers.

Synergistic effect of ZnO nanoparticles with Cu2+ doping on antibacterial and photocatalytic activity

The nanoparticles (NPs) of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO samples were prepared using a chemical precipitation method specifically aimed at enhancing photocatalytic and antibacterial activity. The structural, morphological, phase constitutional, functional, elemental, and optical properties have been studied using Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Ultra Violet diffused reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The crystallite size was calculated by using Debye Scherrer formula and the obtained average crystallite size of pure ZnO, ZnO-Cu2.5%, ZnO-Cu5%, and ZnO-Cu10% sample is 24.31 ± 0.12 nm, 25.72 ± 0.47 nm, 26.83 ± 0.39 nm, and 26.94 ± 0.29 nm, respectively. High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM) was used to calculate the d-spacing. The values of d-spacing for ZnO, ZnO-Cu2.5%, ZnO-Cu5%, and ZnO-Cu10% samples were measured as 0.248 nm, 0.266 nm, and 0.273 nm, respectively and corresponds to (101), (002) and (100) planes of ZnO, respectively which are well associated with the PXRD data (JCPDS card no. 36–1451). It was found that the doping concentration affects the crystallinity of the ZnO nanoparticles. The average grain size of ZnO, ZnO-Cu2.5%, ZnO-Cu5%, and ZnO-Cu10% is 35.75 ± 1.91 nm, 38.55 ± 2.31 nm, 45.39 ± 1.78 nm, and 50.65 ± 2.23 nm, respectively as determined from TEM images by using the ImageJ software. Further, photo-catalytic dye degradation was studied to understand the photocatalytic behavior of synthesized nanoparticles. The UV–Vis adsorption study has revealed that optimum doping of Cu is mandatory to get the highest degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. It was observed that 5% Cu-doped ZnO NPs have the optimum photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of various formulations on the gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, coliform bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) was studied to establish zone of inhibition (ZOI) values for ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO NPs. The current research indicated that 5% Cu-doped ZnO NPs have shown maximum inhibition and may be used for various antibacterial applications.

Cu-doped ZnO-nanoparticles as a novel eco-friendly insecticide for controlling Spodoptera littoralis

The objective of this study was to explore the potential of ZnO-nanoparticles (NPs) and Cu-doped ZnO-nanoparticles (NPs) as insecticides for controlling the population of Spodoptera littoralis, a major pest in Egyptian fields. The researchers employed various characterization techniques like zeta potential, XRD, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy to analyze and identify the nanomaterials used. The study investigated the effects of different concentrations of nanomaterials, ranging from 1 % to 5 %. The results revealed that the presence of Cu-doped ZnO-NPs led to a significant reduction in the pest population compared to the control group. Notably, the highest concentration of 5 % Cu-doped ZnO-NPs exhibited a toxic effect on Spodoptera littoralis, resulting in a remarkable 95 % reduction in their population after 16 days of treatment. Additionally, the findings demonstrate that Cu-doped ZnO-NPs have effective insecticidal properties and are cost-effective, making them a viable option for local application in pest control. Finally, the research highlights the potential of Cu-doped ZnO-NPs as an environmentally safe and efficient insecticide against Spodoptera littoralis in Egyptian fields. The study emphasizes the utility of nanomaterials in pest management, which could significantly reduce the reliance on conventional insecticides, mitigating potential environmental and health risks.

Cu-Doped ZnO Nanoparticle Electrode for Precise and Rapid Sodium Ion Detection in Water Samples

Excessive consumption of sodium ions (Na+) can result in high blood pressure, linked to various health issues. To regulate Na+ intake and manage food flavour, it is crucial to determine the Na+ content in food in real time. Researchers have developed an electrochemical sensor that utilizes cyclic voltammetry (CV) to detect Na+ at room temperature to address this concern. The sensor used a Cu-doped ZnO-modified electrode and was found to be highly selective in detecting Na+. The Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles (Cu-ZnONPs) were synthesized using a solution process and placed on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The sensor exhibited excellent sensitivity, selectivity, linear response, stability, and reproducibility in detecting Na+. It had a low detection limit of 0.1 ppm for known water samples and was successfully employed to measure Na+ levels in actual water samples. This electrochemical sensor is a valuable tool for the real-time measurement of Na+ levels in drinking water samples.

The study of optical, structural and magnetic properties of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles

The study of optical, structural and magnetic properties of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles

Experimental and ab initio studies on the structural, magnetic, photocatalytic, and antibacterial properties of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles.

Copper-doped ZnO nanoparticles with a dopant concentration varying from 1-7 mol% were synthesized and their structural, magnetic, and photocatalytic properties were studied using XRD, TEM, SQUID magnetometry, EPR, UV-vis spectroscopy, and first-principles methods within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). Structural analysis indicated highly crystalline Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles with a hexagonal wurtzite structure, irrespective of the dopant concentration. EDX and EPR studies indicated the incorporation of doped Cu2+ ions in the host ZnO lattice. The photocatalytic activities of the Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles investigated through the degradation of methylene blue demonstrated an enhancement in photocatalytic activity as the degradation rate changed from 9.89 × 10-4 M min-1 to 4.98 × 10-2 M min-1. By the first-principles method, our results indicated that the Cu(3d) orbital was strongly hybridized with the O(2p) state below the valence band maximum (VBM) due to covalent bonding, and the ground states of the Cu-doped ZnO is favorable for the ferromagnetic state by the asymmetry of majority and minority states due to the presence of unpaired electron.

Roussin's black salt decorated Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles for bacterial inhibition

RBS@Cu:ZnO NPs are promising antibacterial agents and exhibit high and controllable antibacterial performance due to the synergistic effect of Cu-doped ZnO and released nitric oxide under light irradiation.

Synthesis, structure, and improved frequency-dependent transport properties of copper doped zinc oxide nanoparticles at high temperatures

The nanostructures of ZnO are studied in this research utilizing a simple, eco-friendly, and cost-effective co-precipitation have a formula Zn 1 − x Cu ( x ) O with (x = 0.0, 0.03, 0.06, and 0.10). The effects of copper (Cu) doping on structure, morphology, impedance, dielectric, and electrical conductivity were investigated using an XRD, SEM, and LCR meter, respectively. All prepared samples have a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and the average crystalline size varies between 46 and 56 nm, according to the XRD spectra. Impedance measured data analyzes that a capacitance phase element perfectly modulates the fabricated samples with the equivalent circuits. Depending on the temperature, the examination of complex impedance and complex electrical modulus revealed a non-Debye types relaxation process. The Arrhenius plots for the conduction mechanism were used to investigate single activation energy. A correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model dominated the conduction process in un-doped and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The dielectric measurements in low-frequency at high temperatures regions exhibited high dielectric constant values for the prepared samples. Compared to undoped ZnO, the dielectric constant values increase with Cu concentration, also improving the ac conductivity of all Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles, making them a suitable choice for energy storage applications. The electrical modulus displays a dual nature of relaxation times for all synthesized samples with lower values. • Pure ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanostructures have been fabricated using a Co-precipitation method. • The average crystalline size of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanostructures lies at 46 nm to 56 nm. • The samples of pure and Cu-doped ZnO nanostructures showed negative temperature coefficient resistance (NTCR). • Dielectric and ac conductivity properties improved with the addition of Cu concentrations. • The Cu-doped ZnO nanostructures shall be beneficial for optoelectronics applications.

Studies on photocatalytic performance and supercapacitor applications of undoped and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles

The structural, morphology and optical properties were characterised using XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and UV-DRS for the undoped and Cu-doped ZnO NPs with varying Cu doping molar concentrations from 0 wt% to 6 wt% through the co-precipitation method. The presence of a ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure for all samples was confirmed by the structural study of the Cu-doped ZnO NPs, indicating the incorporation of Cu2+ ions into the ZnO lattice by substitution and average crystallite sizes of 25–22 nm. The surface morphology analysis of undoped and Cu-doped ZnO NPs indicated the growth of spherical nanocrystallites with fine particles. Optical studies of Cu-doped ZnO nanostructured particles revealed that increasing the Cu doping agent from 0 wt% to 6 wt% resulted in a blue shift of the absorption band with increasing band gap energy from 3.27 eV to 3.44 eV. The degradation efficiency of MB is 89.2% for Cu-doped ZnO photocatalyst, which performs much better than undoped ZnO under natural sunlight irradiation. The electrochemical analysis determined the specific capacitance of 10 to 100 mV/s scan rate for all the samples. Amongst the various concentrations, 6 wt% Cu-doped ZnO had the most excellent specific capacitance of 539.87 F/g at 10 mV/s. Compared with undoped ZnO NPs, Cu-doped into the ZnO matrix enhanced photocatalytic activities and electrochemical performance for wastewater treatment and supercapacitor applications.

Terahertz characterizations of solution-processed Ni-doped, Cu-doped, and undoped ZnO nanoparticles

We present experimental studies on doped and undoped ZnO nanoparticles prepared via cost-effective solution processing techniques towards its applicability for terahertz frequency domain. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms that the dimensions of synthesised particles spread over 120–275 nm, while x-ray diffraction (XRD) along with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) characteristics manifests the presence of the desired materials for doped as well as undoped nanoparticles. Further, terahertz-time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) data are recorded in transmission mode which are employed to extract several optical parameters (viz. refractive index, conductivity, etc) of the nanoparticulate films spanning the frequency range from 0.2 to 0.9 THz. Doped samples clearly manifest enhanced conductivities because of the presence of metallic components. Cost-effective synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles can be useful for terahertz photonics in future.

Antibacterial and Photocatalytic Coatings Based on Cu-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles into Microcellulose Matrix.

The paper presents a successful, simple method for the preparation and deposition of new hybrid Cu-doped ZnO/microcellulose coatings on textile fibers, directly from cellulose aqueous solution. The morphological, compositional, and structural properties of the obtained materials were investigated using different characterization methods, such as SEM-EDX, XRD, Raman and FTIR, as well as BET surface area measurements. The successful doping of ZnO NPs with Cu was confirmed by the EDX and Raman analysis. As a result of Cu doping, the hybrid NPs experienced a phase change from ZnO to (Zn0.9Cu0.1)O, as shown by the XRD results. All the hybrid NPs exhibited a high degree of crystallinity, as revealed by the very sharp reflections in XRD patterns and suggested also by the Raman results. The evaluation of the very low copper-doping (0.1-1 at.%) effect has shown different behavior trends of the hybrid coatings compared with the starting oxide NPs, for MB and MO photodegradation. Continuous increases up to 92% and 60% for MB and MO degradation, respectively, were obtained at maximum 1 at.%-Cu doping coatings. Strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli were observed.

Coated Cu-doped ZnO and Cu nanoparticles as control agents against plant pathogenic fungi and nematodes

In the current study, coated copper nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol 8000 (Cu@PEG NPs) and copper-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles with diethylene glycol (Cu-doped ZnO@DEG NPs) have been synthesized via solvothermal and microwave-assisted process, physicochemical characterized, and studied as nano-fungicides and nano-nematicides. Spheroidal Cu-doped ZnO@DEG NPs and urchin-like Cu@PEG NPs have been isolated with average crystallite sizes of 12 and 21 nm, respectively. The Cu doping (11.3 wt%) in ZnO lattice (88.7 wt%) was investigated by Rietveld refinement analysis and confirmed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The Cu-doped ZnO@DEG and Cu@PEG NPs revealed a growth inhibition of fungi Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea) and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (S. sclerotiorum) and nematode paralysis of Meloidogyne javanica in a dose-dependent manner. Cu-doped ZnO@DEG NPs were more effective against M. javanica (EC50 = 2.60 μg/mL) than the Cu@PEG NPs (EC50 = 25 μg/mL). In contrast, the antifungal activity was approximately similar for both NPs, with EC50 values at 310 and 327 μg/mL against B. cinerea, respectively, and 260 and 278 μg/mL against S. sclerotiorum, respectively. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) plants were inoculated with S. sclerotiorum or M. javanica and sprayed with either Cu-doped ZnO@DEG NPs or Cu@PEG NPs. The antifungal effect was evaluated based on a disease index (DI), and nematicidal activity was assessed based on the total number of galls and nematode females per root gram. NPs successfully inhibited the growth of both pathogens without causing phytotoxicity on lettuce. The DI were significantly decreased as compared to the positive control (DI = 5.2), estimated equal to 1.7, 2.9 and 2.5 for Cu@PEG NPs, Cu-doped ZnO@DEG NPs and the chemical control (KOCIDE 2000), respectively. The reduction in galling and population of M. javanica ranged from 39.32% to 32.29%, statistically like chemical control. The treatment of lettuce plants with Cu-doped ZnO@DEG NPs increased the leaf net photosynthetic value at 4.60 and 6.66 μmol CO2−2 s−1 in plants inoculated with S. sclerotiorum and M. javanica, respectively, as compared to the control (3.00 μmol CO2−2 s−1). The antioxidant capacity of NPs treated lettuce plants was evaluated as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity in leaf extracts. Plants inoculated with S. sclerotiorum and sprayed with Cu-doped ZnO@DEG and Cu@PEG NPs, exhibited a 34.22% and 32.70% increase in antioxidant capacity, respectively, higher than the control. Similarly, an increase in antioxidant capacity was measured (39.49 and 37.36%) in lettuce inoculated with M. javanica and treated with Cu-doped ZnO@DEG and Cu@PEG NPs, respectively. Moreover, an increase of phenolic compounds in lettuce leaf tissue treated with NPs was measured as compared to the control. Overall, foliar applied Cu and Cu-doped ZnO NPs could be a promising tool to control phytopathogenic fungi and nematodes contributing to sustainability of agri-food sector.