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A plasma electrochemical method is used to synthesize cuprous oxide nanoparticles (Cu 2 O NPs). In this system, a gaseous discharge plasma is used to replace the usual solid electrode in a conventional electrodeposition, and Cu 2+ ions are released from anodic dissolution and take a form of Cu 2 (OH) 2+ in the solution. The Cu 2 (OH) 2+ moves to the cathode reaction zone and then is reduced to the Cu 2 O monomer by reductants generated from the plasma-liquid interactions. Consequently, Cu 2 O NPs are formed in the solution by the combination of Cu 2 O monomers. The results indicate that the morphology and Cu valence in the nanoparticles are tuned by the added surfactant of glucose or ascorbic acid. Moreover, the Cu 2 O NPs synthesized with a suitable concentration of ascorbic acid demonstrate strong visible light photocatalytic activity on the methyl orange degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]