Green approach was employed to synthesize Zn_1 − xCu_xO nanoparticles (x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05). The impact of Cu doping on the structure, morphology, and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles was evaluated using XRD, SEM, and UV-vis spectroscopy, respectively. The XRD analyses confirmed that the samples have hexagonal wurtzite structure. The crystallite size, lattice constants, volume of unit cell, and bond length of the nanoparticles showed increasing trend as the Cu concentration was increased from 0 to 5% and vice versa for micro-strain and dislocation density. Atomic packing fraction was found to be 74.05% and bond length was between 1.990 and 1.996 Å. SEM image showed spherical, petal, and rod-like shape. Energy band gap (E_g) of samples red shifted from 3.38 to 3.27 eV. The antibacterial results clearly showed that Cu doping in ZnO NPs improved the diameter of inhibition zone across the selected bacteria and exhibited higher degradation efficiency after 100 min of irradiation.

Graphical Abstract

采用绿色方法合成了Zn _{1-  x} Cu _x O纳米粒子（x  = 0.0、0.01、0.03和0.05）。分别使用XRD，SEM和UV-vis光谱评估了Cu掺杂对ZnO纳米颗粒的结构，形态和光学性质的影响。XRD分析证实样品具有六方纤锌矿结构。随着Cu浓度从0增加到5％，纳米晶的晶粒尺寸，晶格常数，晶胞体积和键长显示出增加的趋势，而微观应变和位错密度反之亦然。发现原子堆积分数为74.05％，键长在1.990至1.996Å之间。SEM图像显示球形，花瓣状和棒状。能带隙（E _g）的红色样品从3.38 eV转变为3.27 eV。抗菌结果清楚地表明，ZnO NPs中的Cu掺杂改善了所选细菌中抑制区的直径，并在照射100分钟后表现出更高的降解效率。

图形概要