Controlled nanocrystallites growth of plasma-treated Cu sheets

Controlling the growth size of nanocrystallites (NCs) has been a big challenge for previous researchers due to unpredictable growing rate and shape obtained during the synthesis. This paper demonstrates an efficient way to control the growth of copper (Cu) NCs using a combination of solution plasma, sunlight and water. The NCs are synthesized by using solution plasma method which has a lot of advantages in controlling NC growth sites. The material used in this paper is Cu sheet due to its antibacterial properties, high electrical and heat conductivity, and low cost. This method is followed by immersing the plasma treated Cu sheets in distilled water and exposing it to sunlight. This method is also known as submerged photosynthesis of crystallites (SPSC), which is a low-temperature and surfactant technique used for NCs fabrication. The photosynthesis-like method is used to allow for NCs growth. The NCs growth size and shape was observed using SEM and ImageJ software. The NCs shapes can be analyzed by observing the antibacterial properties of NCs which is related to the small size of the NCs. The beneficial outcomes of Cu NC shape with antibacterial properties are expected, which can be used in various applications without causing any environmental impact. In addition, using a combination of solution plasma and sunlight exposure, we demonstrated an easy and fast synthesis method to develop Cu NCs economically.