Effect of NaOH concentration on structural, surface and antibacterial activity of CuO nanorods synthesized by direct sonochemical method

•CuO nanorods were synthesized by using one step sonochemical method.•XRD and FESEM analysis confirms the formation of nanorods with monoclinic structure.•The synthesized CuO nanostructures show excellent antibacterial activity against.•Salmonella typhimurium than Staphylococcus aureus strain.

Highly efficient Copper oxide (CuO) nanorods were synthesized by using one step sonochemical method under room temperature with change in NaOH concentration. XRD confirms the prepared nanorods are in pure monoclinic phase with lattice constants a = 4.68 Å, b = 3.42 Å, and c = 5.13 Å and FESEM analysis reveals an average diameter of 50–100 nm. Optical absorption spectra exhibits the strong blue shift compared with bulk and the bandgap increases with decreasing the size of the nanorods which is due to the nanosize effect. The composition of CuO nanorods were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR) which confirms the formation of monoclinic phase of CuO and the Thermal analysis was done by Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The antibacterial properties of copper oxide nanorods were investigated using human pathogens and was compared based on diameter of inhibition zone using agar well diffusion method. The synthesized copper oxide nanostructures show excellent antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhimurium than Staphylococcus aureus strain.

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