Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma Assisted Synthesis of Ag2O Nanomaterials and Ag2O/RuO2 Nanocomposites

Silver oxide, ruthenium oxide nanomaterials and its composites are widely used in a variety of applications. Plasma-mediated synthesis is one of the emerging technologies to prepare nanomaterials with desired physicochemical properties. In this study, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was used to synthesize Ag2O and Ag2O/RuO2 nanocomposite materials. The prepared materials showed good crystallinity. The surface morphology of the Ag2O exhibited "garland-like" features, and it changed to "flower-like" and "leaf-like" at different NaOH concentrations. The Ag2O/RuO2 composite showed mixed structures of aggregated Ag2O and sheet-like RuO2. Mechanisms governing the material's growth under atmospheric pressure plasma were proposed. Chemical analysis was performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed the thermal decomposition behavior and the oxygen release pattern.