Pongamia pinnata flowers powered Ag doped CuO nanoparticles for eco-friendly dye degradation and antimicrobial applications: a mechanistic approach

In this study, silver doped copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO:Ag NPs) were synthesized via a cost-effective green synthesis using Pongamia pinnata flower (PPF) extract. The synthesized material was analyzed for its structural, surface morphological, compositional, and optical characteristics using powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD), FESEM, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), Fourier transform Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The CuO-Ag NPs have good crystalline structure indicating the monoclinic structure of CuO. The FESEM studies showed the excellent flower like morphology of the nanomaterial. suitable for effective. Results on antimicrobial and antifungal studies showed that the material exhibits remarkable zone of inhibition (26 mm) against the tested bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) and fungi (Candida albicans and Fusarium oxysporum). The photocatalysis experiment revealed that the PPF powered CuO:Ag can act as a good photocatalyst with considerable degradation efficiency (99% in 160 min) against Rh-B dye. In a nutshell, the overall results showed that the prepared CuO:Ag:PPF nanoparticles are promising candidates for both antimicrobial and photocatalytic activity.