Biosynthesis of Copper Nanoparticles Using Hylocereus Costaricensis Peel Extract and its Photocatalytic Properties

Abstract

A green chemistry method was used for the first time to synthesize copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) using CuSO4 as a precursor and red dragon fruit (Hylocereus costaricensis) peel wasted extract as a bio-reductor. Cu-NPs produced were then used as a photocatalysts for acid orange 7 (AO7) dyes degradation. The results showed that the smallest average crystallite size of the products ranged from 8.84 to 8.86 nm with the FCC crystal structure and surface area of 244.38e278.85 m2g-1. Furthermore, the optimum degradation of AO7 dye occurred at a ratio of 1:3 with a percentage of 81.07% for four cycles. These findings indicated that Cu-NPs can be used for the treatment of textile wastewater under sunlight in the future.