A Comparative Study of the individual and Mixed Oxide Nanostructures on Sunlight Driven Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye and Antimicrobial Efficacy

In this study, we synthesized CuO-NiO mixed transition metal oxide nanoparticles by a low-cost co-precipitation approach with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a capping agent. The synthesized nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized using a range of instrumental methods, such as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-vis spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). CuO and NiO's ensuing bimetallic compositions revealed that NiO has a cubic phase and CuO has a monoclinic structure. When exposed to sunlight for varying durations, spanning from 0 to 180 min, these nanoparticles showed photoactivity and established their effectiveness as catalysts for the breakdown of Methylene Blue (MB). For NiO, CuO, and CuO-NiO, the corresponding degradation efficiencies were found to be 62%, 74%, and 89%. The MB degrading efficiency of CuO-NiO was significantly higher than that of individual CuO and NiO, with a kinetic rate constant of 1.175 min-1. CuO-NiO nanoparticles demonstrated significant potential as a photocatalyst for water pollution elimination. CuO-NiO outperformed CuO and NiO nanoparticles in terms of anti-fungal activity against Aspergillus Niger and Candida albicans, according to an assessment conducted using the Potato Dextrose agar well diffusion technique.