Biological synthesis of copper oxide-carbon nanocomposites using the aqueous extract of vitex negundo linn. leaves, characterization and antimicrobial activity

Abstract

Copper Oxide- Carbon nanocomposites were synthesized via biological route using the aqueous extract of Vitex negundo leaves at room temperature. In the synthesis procedure, the copper sulphate solution is used as the precursor and leaf extract as the reducing agent. Also, the leaf extract acts as a source of carbon and capping agent. The synthesized material was characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR, XPS and FE-SEM. All the characterization results revealed that the material was Copper Oxide- Carbon nanocomposite flakes with a thickness in the range 3-8 nm. The antimicrobial activity of this novel material was tested against different pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans, and fungi Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. The nanocomposites showed significant antimicrobial activity.