Facile synthesis of 2-dimensional CuO nanoleaves and their degradation behavior for Eosin Y

For the first time, 2D CuO nanoleaves (NLs) with average dimensions of similar to 350-450 nm in length and similar to 60-90 nm in width was successfully synthesized using NaOH and L-arginine. The as-obtained 2D CuO NLs were composed of CuO primary single crystal nanoparticles. The CuO NLs were characterized by XRD, TEM, SAED, FT-IR and UV analyses. A clear blue shift was observed in the band gap energy (similar to 2.15 eV) of synthesized CuO NLs. The prepared 2D CuO NLs act as an efficient and remarkable photocatalyst for the degradation of Eosin Y by solar irradiation for the first time. The complete degradation takes place within 45 min. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.