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

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.