Fabrication of Cu₂O-ZnO Nanocomposite by the Sol-gel Technique and its Antibacterial Activity

In this work, the Cu₂O-ZnO nanocomposite having the high antibacterial activity was synthesized through the sol-gel method. The effects of calcination temperature and duration on the formation of Cu₂O-ZnO composite were emphasized. The most suitable condition of calcination was found to be 500 ^oC and 2 hours. Synthesized Cu₂O-ZnO nanocomposite was were characterized by powder X-Ray Diffraction, BET nitrogen adsorption isotherms, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, and evaluated its antibacterial against human pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive bacteria) and Escherichia coli (gram-negative bacteria). The results showed that the particles of Cu₂O-ZnO composite existed spherical shapes with a wide variation in the size of 10 ‒ 60 nm. Cu₂O-ZnO nanocomposite had the high antibacterial activity against both the gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus) and the gram-negative bacteria (E. coli) with the values of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.16 mg.mL^-1 and 1.25 mg.mL^-1 correspond to S. aureus and E. coli. The stability of the antibacterial activity of the sample was also surveyed. The antibacterial activity of Cu₂O-ZnO nanocomposite was reduced after 45 days when stored at room temperature in a becher without cover.