Dual role of chlorogenic acid as an influential precursor in synthesizing nano‐sized Cu(II) complexes and investigating its catalytic role in the oxidation of alcohols and its antibacterial activity

Chlorogenic acid (3-O-caffeoyl-D-quinic acid) (CGA) is a compound found in a large kind of food, including fruits, vegetables, olive oil, spices, and coffee. CGA has the ability to bind with several metal ions to increase its biological activity. In the last ten years, CGA has attracted considerable attention due to its biological activity like anticancer, antioxidant, and antibacterial. In this present study, we used CGA and Cu(II) for the synthesis of the metal complexes. As a ligand for the synthesis of novel nanoscale Cu(II) complex, the CGA has been used. Then the product was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, FESEM, XRD, and EDAX. FESEM image for nanoscale copper(II) complex showed nanoparticles with an average diameter of 40 nm. XRD of synthesized nanoscale copper(II) complex gives characteristic peaks at 2θ°: 33.12, 36.37, 38.77, 48.83, 53.52, 58.82, 63.47, 66.34, and 68.91. Significantly, our product showed remarkable catalytic activity toward the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols. The antibacterial activity of the final product was assessed against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacteria using an inhibition zone test. The synthesized nanoscale Cu(II) complex exhibited strong antibacterial activity against both of these bacteria.