Copper oxide nanosheets prepared by facile microplasma electrochemical technique with photocatalytic and bactericidal activities

Copper oxide (CuO) nanostructures are synthesized via a simple and novel atmospheric pressure microplasma technique without using any surfactant. The effect of electrolyte concentration on structure, size, and morphology of CuO nanostructures has been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results revealed the formation of highly crystalline single phase CuO, exhibiting a monoclinic structure. SEM images have shown an interpenetrating self-assembled nanosheets (NS) with varying sizes. The energy bandgap of the samples is estimated between 2.0 and 2.73 eV. The antibacterial activity of CuO NS demonstrates significant bactericidal efficiency against gram-negative bacteria. In addition, these NS are checked for the degradation of organic dyes such as Rhodamine B and methyl orange under sunlight irradiation which showed significant degradation, indicating excellent photocatalytic activity. It has been found that CuO NS are promising material for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications because of its attractive photocatalytic and antibacterial properties.