Electrochemical synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles for enhanced photocatalytic and antimicrobial activity

The electrochemical method has been investigated for the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CUD NPs) under different reaction conditions. The CuO NPs were used as excellent photocatalyst for the degradation of different organic dyes under the illumination of sunlight irradiation. The highest degradation was 93% for methylene blue. The rate constant for MB, MR, and CR was found to be firstorder with values 0.02059, 0.02046, and 0.01749 min(-1), respectively. The antimicrobial efficiency of CuO NPs was investigated against bacterial strains (Escherichia coil and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungal strains (Aspergillus nigres and Candida albicans). (C) 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.