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Abstract: A plasma-NaCl aqueous solution system has been used to synthesize cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanoparticles. In this plasma electrochemical system, the argon plasma located above the liquid surface is used as cathode, while a copper plate partially immersed into the aqueous solution as the counter electrode. At the anode zone, the anodic dissolution of Cu plate releases Cu2+ into aqueous solution and then transports and reacts in the plasma-liquid interactions zone. The results show that the morphology of the synthesized Cu2O nanoparticles ranges from irregular shape to spherical structure by altering the concentration of surfactant of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide. In addition, the obtained Cu2O nanoparticles with spherical structure have been confirmed to have enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance of methyl orange degradation. Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is usually considered to be an important reagent in green chemistry since water is the only by-product in H2O2 involved oxidation reactions. Early studies show that direct synthesis of H2O2 by plasma-water interactions is possible, while the factors affecting the H2O2 production in this method remain unclear. Herein, we present a study on the H2O2 synthesis by atmospheric pressure plasma-water interactions. The results indicate that the most important factors for the H2O2 production are the processes taking place at the plasma-water interface, including sputtering, electric field induced hydrated ion emission, and evaporation. The H2O2 production rate reaches ~1200 μmol/h when the liquid cathode is purified water or an aqueous solution of NaCl with an initial conductivity of 10500 μS cm−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]