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In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Publication history
Received June 24, 2026
Accepted July 24, 2026
Available online November 25, 2026
articles This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Characterization, Biological Activities and Environmental Application of the Manilkara zapota Wrapped CaO-CuO Nanocomposite

Department of Chemical Engineering, Konkuk University 1Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 2Department of Petrochemical Technology, University College of Engineering - BIT Campus, Anna University 3Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chonnam National University
jkrhee@konkuk.ac.kr, hsbyun@jnu.ac.kr
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, November 2026, 43(13), 3697-3712(16)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-026-00798-w

Abstract

Plant-based metal oxide nanoparticles have gained considerable interest in recent years due to their important biological 

applications. The present study aimed to synthesize, characterize, and test the environmental applications of a Manilkara 

zapota leaf-wrapped CaO–CuO nanocomposite. A phytochemical-rich extract was used as a reducing or stabilizing agent 

during synthesis; therefore, the synthesis route was entirely eco-friendly. The fabrication and structural properties were 

confirmed using UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission

Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline structure,

and TEM revealed that the nanocomposite was nearly spherical, with an average size of 22.41 nm. Optical studies 

showed a direct band gap energy of 3.32 eV, providing evidence of the semiconductor behavior of the nanocomposite. 

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities reached their maximum values at 250 µg/mL and 50 µg/mL, respectively,

indicating progressive free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory potential. The inhibition zone diameter was 

determined to be 13.51, 14.25, 14.31, and 16.8 mm for Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 

Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. P. aeruginosa exhibited maximum antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity at a nanocomposite

concentration of 100 µg/mL. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite was investigated, 

achieving 81.14% Congo red dye decolorization under 80 min of sunlight irradiation. The reaction was followed by the 

first-order kinetic model with a constant rate of 0.0219 min−1

. This study demonstrates that the green-synthesized CaO–

CuO nanocomposite holds significant promise as a sustainable, multi-target material for biomedical and environmental 

remediation applications.

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