Microwave assisted facile and green route for synthesis of CuO nanoleaves and their efficacy as a catalyst for reduction and degradation of hazardous organic compounds

A facile, green synthesis of 2D CuO nanoleaves (NLs) using amino acid, namely glutamic acid was developed by microwave heating method for the first time. The aminoacid acts as a complexing/capping agent in the synthesis of CuO NLs. This technique gives rise to the formation of self assembled 2D CuO NLs having an average length and width of ∼720–800 nm and ∼136–160 nm respectively. The 2D CuO NLs were built up from the primary CuO nanoparticles by oriented attachment growth mechanism. CuO NLs were characterized by X-ray Diffraction method (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Selected-area Electron Diffraction Pattern (SAED) and Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The optical properties were investigated using UV–vis spectroscopy. The synthesized CuO NLs act as an effective catalyst for the reduction of toxic aromatic nitro compounds, namely p-nitrophenol, p-nitroaniline and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol. The photocatalytic activities of CuO NLs were also analyzed for the degradation of two hazardous dyes, namely Rose Bengal and methyl violet 6B by solar irradiation technique. The degradation products were identified using LC–MS and the mechanistic pathways for the degradation of dyes were suggested.