Photo-Catalytic and Anti-microbial Activities of rGO/CuO Nanocomposite

In this work, cost-effective reduced graphene oxide/copper oxide (rGO/CuO) nanocomposite was synthesized by the reduction of GO to rGO and deposition of CuO on the surface of rGO using single step simple chemical method. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The appearance of peak at 2θ = 11.03° confirmed the synthesis of GO and peaks at 25.65°, 36.14°, 43.09°, 49.91° and 69.52° indicated the synthesis of the nanocomposite. It was found that the normal particulate size of the prepared nanocomposite was in range of 30 to 50 nm. SEM analysis was done to demonstrate the external morphology of the prepared GO and the nanocomposite. The prepared rGO/CuO nanocomposite was analyzed towards photo-catalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4- aminophenol (4-AP). It was found that about 81% of MB was degraded in 240 min under UV light and complete conversion of 4-NP to 4-AP was done in only 2 min. The prepared rGO/CuO nanocomposite was also analyzed for anti-microbial activity. It was found that the rGO/CuO nanocomposite exhibits better anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities than GO. The results indicated the increased biocompatibility of the rGO/CuO nanocomposites than GO.