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 ~350-450 nm in length and ~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 (~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.