Facile synthesis of cuprous oxide nanoparticles by plasma electrochemistry

We report on a simple plasma electrochemistry method for synthesizing cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) nanoparticles in the presence of glucose. In this system, Ar plasma in contact with a NaCl solution was used as one electrode, and a Cu plate was immersed in the solution as the counter electrode. The plasma-solution interaction produced many reducing and oxidizing species which can react with the Cu ions released from the Cu electrode. Cu₂O nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 22 $\pm$ 6 nm, were formed under the competition of reducing and oxidizing reactions in the solution. The results show that the glucose added in the electrolyte strongly influences the properties of the products. Corresponding to high, medium, and low concentrations of glucose, the products were nanoparticles from amorphous Cu₂O, polycrystalline Cu₂O, and a mixture of polycrystalline Cu₂O and Cu₂Cl(OH)₃, respectively. (paper)