Shape-controlled synthesis of Cu2O nano/microcrystals and their antibacterial activity Original Research Article

Uniform cuprous oxides with different morphologies have been successfully synthesized using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a capping agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis spectrophotometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to characterize the structure and morphology of cuprous oxides. It was found that the reaction conditions such as PVP, reducing agent and complexing agent played important roles in the formation of regular cuprous oxide crystals. In addition, their antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) was also investigated by the Oxford cup method. Results suggested that cuprous oxides are selective in their antibacterial action. They display effective antibacterial activity against S. aureus, B. subtilis and P. aeruginosa. There is no bactericidal ability against E. coli in the tested concentration range, which indicates that E. coli may be a Cu(I)-tolerant bacterium.