Abstract
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► Novel CuO nanocrystals having size ∼6nm area were prepared via simple wet chemical method. ► The prepared CuO nanocrystals are depicted as promising candidate for bactericidal applications. ► The CuO nanocrystals showed very high specific capacitance of 164.9Fg−1 at a potential scan rate of 5mV/s.
We report herein the synthesis and characterization of novel CuO nanocrystals and their electrochemical and potent antibacterial activity. The utilized CuO nanocrystals were prepared by wet chemical method using copper acetate and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) as precursors. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized CuO nanocrystals having size ∼6nm were determined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultra violet-visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. The antibacterial study was carried out by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using E. coli as model organism. The MIC of the CuO nanocrystals was found to be 2.5μg/ml and the TEM analysis reveals that CuO nanocrystals caused disturbance to the cell wall which led to the irreversible damage to the cell envelope eventually leading to cell death. Furthermore, mechanism of bactericidal action of novel CuO nanocrystals is discussed in the light of our findings. Additionally, the synthesized CuO nanocrystals were applied as electrode material for supercapacitor. The specific capacitance of CuO nanocrystals measured at a potential scan rate of 5mV/s was as high as 164.9Fg−1.