Bio-Construction of CuO Nanoparticles Using Texas Sage Plant Extract for catalytical degradation of Methylene blue Via Photocatalysis

The theme of this research is to highlight the importance of green synthesis for nanomaterials preparation. In citing this statement, herein, we reported bio-synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles by Leucophyllum frutescens leaf extract-mediated reaction along with the study of morphological, optical, structural features and their photocatalytic dye degradation activity of synthesized nanoparticles. The formation of bio-mediated CuO nanoparticles was confirmed by the XRD having crystalline size of 27 nm and monoclinic structure, FTIR presenting absorption band at 673 cm⁻¹. The phase purity was revealed from XRD as there is no extra peak for impurities. The CuO represents the absorption of UV radiations at 380 nm upon UV-DRS studies and band gap energy of 1.48 eV. The morphological studies wereperformed by the FESEM and TEM, both characterized that CuO nanoparticles are spherical in shape. The particle size calculated by particle distribution through FESEM and SEM micrographs was ∼ 25 nm which is in accordance with the crystalline size calculated by XRD. The formation of CuO nanoparticles and phase purity was further validated by the EDX analysis. The metallic existence, phase purity and valency of synthesized nanoparticles confirmed by the XPS. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was studied by CuO under irradiation of visible light. The synthesized CuO degraded the cationic dye in 120 min with the degradation efficiency of 88%. Thus, the proposed work suggests the synthesis of metal oxides nanoparticles via green synthesis is very cost effective and ecofriendly process. The green synthesized CuO nanoparticles are efficient photocatalysts for detection and remediation of organic environmental pollutants in water bodies, presenting their potential towards development of wastewater applications.