Antimicrobial and Dye Degradation Activities of Copper Phosphate (Cu ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ ) Microflower Synthesized by Using Cinnamon Extract

In this study, microflowers were synthesized for the first time by the coordination of cinnamon extract and Cu 2+ . Cinnamon extract and Cu 2+ were incubated in different PBS buffers (pH 5–9) for 3 days. According to FE‐SEM, microflowers close to the ideal flower morphology were synthesized by using 1 mL of extract in PBS (pH: 9). The presence of primary copper‐phosphate crystals was revealed by FT‐IR analysis. The MIC values of mFs against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains were 40 and 160 µg/ml, respectively. Microflowers degraded the methylene blue dye the highest (%78) at pH 9 and the lowest at pH 5. The medium pH affects the organic component charge in the formation of microflowers (nucleation and self‐growth steps). This situation determines the morphology of microflowers by affecting the coordination of the Cu 2+ with the functional groups of the organic component. The antimicrobial and catalytic activities of microflowers were explained by the Fenton mechanism. Free radicals formed by the reaction of H 2 O 2 and Cu 2+ play a main role in the Fenton reaction. It is suggested that this could shed light on studies aimed at developing microflowers and improving their various properties.