Green Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Mediated by Aqueous Leaf Extracts of Leucas aspera and Morinda tinctoria

Copper oxide nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using the aqueous leaf extracts of Leucas aspera and Morinda tinctoria plant material with copper sulfate (CuSO4.5H2O) as the precursor. The crystalline nature and morphology of the synthesized sample were identified using XRD and SEM analytical instrumentation and found that the crystal was in the monoclinic phase, and the average particle size was estimated as 30.32nm and 18.72nm for both the samples. The functional groups were identified using FTIR spectroscopy, and the strong absorption peak at 620 cm-1 and 615cm-1 confirms the presence of Cu-O vibration. The optical bandgap of the plant leaf extract mediated CuO particles was calculated based on the results obtained from UV-Vis spectroscopy and found that the value of the energy gap is 5.6eV and 3.16eV. The antibacterial activity of plant samples was carried out by the disc diffusion method. The test compounds' concentrations were taken in DMSO and used in the concentration of 500 µg and 1000 µg /disc. The zone of inhibition formed by the prepared CuO nanoparticles was good and compared with Amikacin's standard value. The study reports the plant leaf extract mediated CuO nanoparticles might find suitable application in the field of nanotechnology.