Plasma synthesis of oxygen vacancy-rich CuO/Cu2(OH)3NO3 heterostructure nanosheets for boosting degradation performance†

Defect regulation and the construction of a heterojunction structure are effective strategies to improve the catalytic activity of catalysts. In this work, the rapid conversion of CuO to Cu₂(OH)₃NO₃ was achieved by fixing nitrogen in air as NO₃⁻ using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma. This innovative approach resulted in the successful synthesis of a CuO/Cu₂(OH)₃NO₃ nanosheet heterostructure. Notably, the samples prepared using plasma exhibit thinner thickness and larger specific surface area. Importantly, oxygen vacancies are introduced, simultaneously forming heterojunction interfaces within the CuO/Cu₂(OH)₃NO₃ structure. CuO/Cu₂(OH)₃NO₃ using plasma effectively degraded 96% of methyl orange within 8 min in the dark. The degradation rate is 81 and 23 times that of CuO and Cu₂(OH)₃NO₃ using hydrothermal methods, respectively. The high catalytic activity is attributed to the large specific surface area, the abundance of active sites, and the synergy between oxygen vacancies and the strong heterojunction interfacial interactions, which accelerate the transfer of electrons and the production of reactive oxygen species (˙O₂⁻ and ˙OH). The mechanism of plasma preparation was proposed on account of microstructure characterization and online mass spectroscopy, which indicated that gas etching, gas expansion, and the repulsive force of electrons play key roles in plasma exfoliation.