Synthesis of stainless steel nanoballs via submerged glow-discharge plasma and its photocatalytic performance in methylene blue decomposition

Abstract

Stainless steel nanoparticles or 'nanoballs' have been synthesised using submerged glow-discharge plasma. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the nanoballs are uniformly spherical and size distribution estimation showed that their diameters are below 200 nm. The decomposition of methylene blue solution under ultraviolet light with the wavelength of 354 nm was observed in the presence of stainless steel nanoballs. A mixture of stainless steel nanoballs and 0.1% methylene blue dye was irradiated with ultraviolet light. The concentration of methylene blue was reduced to baseline level in 72 hours. This shows that the stainless steel nanoballs have photocatalytic ability. In stainless steel nanoballs, methylene blue showed two different decomposition pathways; showing fast and slow reactions. Also, methylene blue was oxidised into sulphoxide before reducing into lighter by-products. X-ray diffraction analysis has shown that the nanoballs consist of Fe 2 O 3 and Cr 2 O 3 , which are photocatalytically active species.

Formation of CuO nano-flowered surfaces via submerged photo-synthesis of crystallites and their antimicrobial activity

“…After glow discharge, metal-oxide seed irregularities (nanobumps) were formed (Fig. 2(b)) 19, 21, 22 . Therefore, we choose the voltage range of 130–140 V as an optimized plasma-treatment condition for the following SPSC experiments.

Figure 1Surface morphology after SPSC of a Cu substrate plate.

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In situ direct observation of photocorrosion in ZnO crystals in ionic liquid using a laser-equipped high-voltage electron microscope

“…This synthesis process requires no additives, unlike other methods. [23][24][25][26][27][28] Figure 2 shows scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images that show the process of generating a crystal seed on the Zn substrate, which was treated by submerged plasma discharge, 29,30 ZnO crystal growth by UV irradiation, and photocorrosion in excess UV irradiation in fresh, pure water. As shown in Fig.…”

Submerged Glow-Discharge Plasma: An Economical Approach to Convert Construction Scrap Metal into Nanomaterials

“…During full plasma stage (4), the surface of the cathode is partially melted to produce nanoparticles owing to the concentration of current causes by the electro-thermal instability. [14]. Eventually, the cathode melts or ionizes at the spot to form nanoparticles by current concentration spot during discharge plasma, and rapidly cooled in the solution to form nanospheres due to surface tension and quenching effect of the electrolyte [16].…”

“…Furthermore, glow discharge plasma in liquid also generates active radicals, an effective reducing and oxidation agents to treat biological and chemical matter [6]. Currently, glow-discharge plasma in liquid has provide new scientific challenges and emerging plasma technology widely applied in drinking and waste water treatment [7][8][9], hydrogen peroxide production [10,11], plasma medicine [12], surface engineering [13], nanomaterial synthesis [14][15][16][17] etc.…”

“…Submerged glow-discharge plasma has been researched as an innovative and economical method for nanoparticles synthesis [14,[17][18][19] and offers several advantages: (1) relatively simple in experiment setup and mass production , (2) no external gas supply is needed, and (3) easily available precursor of nanoparticles [20]. The field of nanomaterials synthesis via submerged glow-discharge plasma [14,18] has grown significantly due to the growing demand for various types of nanotechnology developments. This paper discusses the generation mechanism of glow discharge plasma for the preparing nanoparticles from scrap metal submerged in liquid and physical characteristics of the produced nanoparticles.…”