Green Synthesis of Curcumin Conjugated CuO Nanoparticles for Catalytic Reduction of Methylene Blue

A novel simple green synthesis route was applied to produce copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) and CuO nanograins (NGs) by using cupric chloride dihydrated as copper salt precursor, curcumin (a natural and non-toxic food spice) as conjugated agent with or without cetyl trimethylammonium bromide acting as a stabilizing agent at extreme basic condition. Synthesis of this curcumin conjugated CuO nanoparticles was optimized by studying effect of several parameters starting with copper salt precursor, curcumin concentration, pH and temperature. Scanning electron microscopy coupled to Energy Dispersive X-ray Analyzer, thermogravimetirc analysis, X-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and zeta potential were used to characterize the resulted CuO NPs/NGs. In this work, the synthesized copper oxide nanograins were found to be efficient nano-catalysts for the reduction of methylene blue and it was found that nanograin has better catalytic activity compared to spherical shape nanoparticles, emphasizing shape of the CuO particles is crucial for its nanocatalytic activity.