Effect of electrolyte concentration during solution plasma on copper nanoparticle size

This research was conducted to investigate the effect of electrolyte concentration of solution plasma on copper nanoparticles size. Copper nanoparticles with the size between 1-100 nm have received a huge interest because of their optical, catalytic and electrical conducting properties. Electrolysis via solution plasma method has many advantages such as its cost effectiveness, simplicity, eco-friendliness, and less energy requirements compared to other methods. To synthesize copper nanoparticles via solution plasma, two wires of copper and platinum as cathode and anode respectively were immersed in a glass beaker of 300 ml of two electrolyte solution (K2CO3 and NaOH) with three different concentrations (0.1 M, 0.5M and 1M), and electrical current was applied similar to an electrolysis process. The images of the nanoparticles were obtained using scanning electron microscopy and their sizes were analyzed using ImageJ software. It was found that when the concentration of K2CO3 increased, the size of copper nanoparticle also increased. However, the size of copper nanoparticles decreased when the concentration of NaOH was increased. This research shows the potential of easily controlling size of copper nanoparticles by changing the electrolyte concentration used during solution plasma process.