Ag-decorated Cu-doped ZnO nanomaterial for enhanced antibacterial application

The rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria demands the development of efficient antimicrobial agents. Here, single ZnO, CuO, and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and copper/silver-doped nanocomposites (NCs) with high porosity were prepared employing bottom-up combustion synthesis techniques. The better optoelectrical and charge transfer characteristics of modified NCs have been confirmed from the UV-vis-DRS, PL, and CV analysis. The inclusion of copper in the ZnO lattice causes a shift towards a high angle in the XRD pattern analysis. However, silver forms a separate crystal or aggregate with ZnO (ZnO/Ag) and enhances the charge transfer process through the interface. The XRD and HRTEM image analysis verified the development of Cu-ZnO/Ag/CuO NCs. The antibacterial activity was optimized by leveraging the synergistic effects of Ag, CuO, and ZnO and assessing the influence of calcination temperature. The bacterial deactivation ability of HSs NCs is significantly higher than that of bare ZnO, confirming the existence of a synergistic effect. The maximum zone of inhibition is found to be 22 mm on S. pyogenes bacteria. Here, the developed Cu-ZnO/Ag/CuO heterostructures (HSs) have been found to be a promising material for antibacterial activities. Thus, the synthesized materials have excellent future outlooks in large-scale real-life biomedical applications.