Effect of Arachis hypogaea L. Leaf Extract on Barfoed's Solution; Green Synthesis of Cu2O Nanoparticles and its Antibacterial Effect

Development of biologically inspired experimental processes for the synthesis of nanoparticles is evolving in important branch of nanotechnology. The present study deals with a green, low-cost and reproducible method for the synthesis of Cu2O nanoparticles by reduction of Barfoed's solution, using agriculture wastes of Arachis hypogaea L. (Fabaceae) leaf extracts containing reducing sugars which act as reducing agent at room temperature. The purification process of the Cu2O product does not require expensive methods, since a solid product is obtained from a reaction in liquid phase. The result indicates that aldehyde group present in reducing sugar plays excellent role in the formation of cuprous oxide nanoparticles in the solution. Antibacterial effect of cuprous oxide nanoparticles against gram-negative Escherichia coli was analyzed. The resulting Cu2O nanoparticles were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), UV-VIS absorption, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.