Optical and antimicrobial activity of pure and Eu doped ZnSO4·7H2O single crystals

•Pure and Eu doped ZnSO4 .7H2O single crystals were grown using slow evaporation and seed hanging methods.•Confirmed grown crystals structural and optical characterization with XRD, UV Vis, FTIR, SEM with EDAX and photoluminescence.•The antimicrobial nature of the pure and Eu doped crystals was studied for bacteria and fungi.•The antimicrobial studies evident that the crystal can also act as a good antimicrobial agent in addition to its good optical behavior .