Influence of Copper Incorporation on the Structural, Optical, and Antibacterial Properties of ZnO Nanosystems

Zn_(1-x)Cu_xO (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) nanostructures have been synthesized by a simple chemical co-precipitation method, and the prepared samples have been analyzed by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), UV–visible spectrophotometry (UV–Vis), Photoluminescence (PL), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and antibacterial activity. The Bragg peaks of XRD data matched well with the standard JCPDS data (PDF #89-1397). X-ray investigation reveals that all the synthesized samples are crystallized in a hexagonal wurzite structure with space group P63mc and space group number 186. The average crystallite size is calculated using Scherrer’s formula and falls in the range of 28 nm to 37 nm. Lattice parameters are calculated using relevant formulae and are in good agreement with the standard values. From UV–Vis absorption spectra, optical band gap values are increased from 3.574 eV to 3.569 eV which confirms the wide band gap of ZnO useful for sensor applications. PL emission spectra show the emission peaks around 380 nm which confirms that undoped and copper-doped ZnO samples are optically active in the ultraviolet region. The presence of key functional groups throughout the steps of this synthesis is explained based on the results obtained from FTIR analysis. Antibacterial activity for ZnO and Cu-ZnO nanoparticles was also analyzed using the well diffusion method.