A synthesis of metallic and metal-containing nanopowders is of a great interest due to their potential applications as super hard materials, environmentally friendly fuel cells with highly effective catalysts, and so on. In our study Cu-based carbon nanoparticles were synthesized via an arc or spark discharge between copper and graphite electrodes in a copper chloride aqueous solution. The discharge was initiated by applying a high-frequency voltage of 3.5 kV. The power supply provided AC discharge at the repetition rate of 100 Hz with 60 A peak current, 50 μs duration pulses in the spark regime, and 9 A and 5 ms in the arc regime. The synthesized products were obtained as colloidal solutions. After the 15 min presedimentation the large particles precipitated at the vessel bottom. The top layer contained the small nanoparticles was carefully poured off into a Petry dish. These suspended nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Visible optical absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) for their size, morphology, crystalline structure and composition. Synthesized material was subjected to laser-induced modification. The influence of laser irradiation on nanoparticles morphology was studied. The samples were irradiated with unfocused 532 nm laser beam of a Nd:YAG laser for 3 min. The laser fluence was 0.2 J/cm2. The changes in nanoparticles morphology were eximined by UV-Visible optical absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). No plasmon peak was observed in optical absorption spectra. The absence of plasmon at 570 nm can be explain either by oxidation of copper on surface of particle or covering of nanoparticles with carbon layer. The results of the experiments imply that plasma treatment with longer pulse duration and lower current leads to the formation of carbon embedded nanoparticles. TEM confirms the formation of encapsulated nanoparticles. An arc discharge between copper and graphite electrodes in aqueous copper chloride solution resulted in formation of copper nanoparticles surrounded by graphite shells. The shell consists of atoms evaporated from the electrodes surface. Core-shell nanoparticles ranged from 20 to 50 nm in diameter, while the cores within the nanoparticles varied from 8 to 25 nm. The cores were non-spherical. They seemed to compose of small particles clustered together. Formation of small copper nanoparticles with average diameter about 4 nm occurs in a spark discharge. The flake-like structures with diffuse contours were 50 nm in size. They were observed in all samples. Laser irradiation of synthesized colloids resulted in a shape change of shell structures and partial or full division. After the irradiation, according to TEM-investigations, suspensions consisted of particles with circular cross-section, whereas, before the irradiation, the particle shape was non-spherical. The nanoparticles were dispersed very well. Moreover tendency to agglomeration was increased under laser irradiation.