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In this work, we focus on the synthesis of Cu0.95Zn0.05O and Cu0.9Zn0.05M0.05O (M = Cr, Co, Cd) nanocrystals by employing low-cost sol–gel method. The effect of single doping and co-doping on physical, antibacterial, and photocatalytic properties of CuO has been successfully investigated using characterization tools comprising XRD, SEM, FTIR, UV–Vis, and I–V measurements. X-ray diffraction pattern exhibited that the grown product of CuO has no traces of impurities, indicated the successful incorporation of dopants without changing monoclinic structure. The X-ray peak profile analysis was adopted to calculate the average crystallite size (D) by considering the contributions of lattice strain on peak broadening. The calculated direct energy bandgap indicated redshift (1.26 eV to 1.81) eV by co-doping. The I–V study revealed the enhancement in electrical properties by co-doping. The effects of co-doping on photocatalytic properties of CuO were studied by degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes under direct sunlight. The Zn/Cd-doped nanocrystal has a higher degradation efficiency 98.4% against MB and 96.1% against MO dye in 50 min. The enhanced photodegradation is due to the generation of reactive species confirmed by scavenger's experiments. The recyclability test showed the reusability of grown catalyst up to the 4th cycle. The antibacterial property was studied against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterial strains, which showed the highest zone of inhibition 31 mm, and 32 mm for co-doped samples. Furthermore, the present study paves the path to modify the properties of CuO for optoelectronic devices, environmental, and biomedical applications.