Characteristics and antifungal activity of CuO-ZnO nanocomposites synthesized by the sol-gel technique

Vo N. L. Uyen^{1, 2}, Nguyen P. Anh^{3, 4}, Nguyen T. T. Van^{3, 4}, Nguyen Tri³, Nguyen V. Minh⁵, Nguyen N. Huy^{1, 2}, Tran V. Linh^{1, 2}, Pag-Asa Gaspillo⁶, and Huynh K. P. Ha^{1, 2}*

¹Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

²University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

³Institute of Chemical Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

⁴Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

⁵Biotechnology Department, Open University Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

⁶Department of Chemical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

Received 16 January 2020; accepted 6 March 2020

 

Abstract:

CuO-ZnO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by the sol-gel method. Characteristic properties of the synthesized nanoparticles were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms, and BJH pore diameter distributions. The formation of highly crystalline CuO and ZnO was confirmed by XRD. FT-IR confirmed that Zn-O and Cu-O bonds were formed in the material. SEM and TEM images showed that the obtained CuO-ZnO nanoparticles were nearly spherical in shape and had a uniform size distribution with sizes ranging between 5-20 nm for the CuO-containing phase and 50-100 nm for the ZnO-containing phase. The CuO-ZnO sample showed effective antifungal activities against four strains. Aspergillus and Penicillium were completely inhibited with a concentration of 5 mg/ml of CuO-ZnO. For the Magnaporthe and Neoscytalidium strains, the minimum inhibitory concentration was 10 mg/ml.

Keywords: antifungal activity, CuO, nanocomposite, sol-gel, ZnO.

Classification number: 2.2