Three-stage synthesis and characterization of bimetallic Ag/Cu/Cu2O nanoparticles for antimicrobial applications

In the current study, Cu2O/CuO, Cu2O/Cu nanopowders and bimetallic Ag/Cu/Cu2O nanoparticles were suc-cessively synthesized using solution combustion, reduction, and co-precipitation methods. XRD, SEM-EDX, FTIR, and TG analysis have been used to characterize and study the synthesized materials. The structure, morphology and elemental composition of the powders were evaluated. It was found that the pH of the medium affected the morphological parameters of the Ag/Cu/Cu2O particles. The synthesized Ag/Cu/Cu2O samples showed fungi-cidal activity against Fusarium oxysporium 280 phytopathogens. Nanoparticles synthesized at pH = 9 and pH = 7 had a high inhibitory activity and formed a lysis zone with the sizes of 27 and 24 mm, respectively. The results obtained can be used to suppress specific fungal infections of cotton.