Synthesis of crystalline Cu2O nanoparticles using long chained alcohol

The successful synthesis of highly crystallized cuprous oxide nanoparticles using long chained alcohol reduction method is reported. The purity of copper oxide obtained by this method greatly depends on the synthesis conditions such as reaction temperature, reaction duration, and hydroxyl ion concentration that assist the reduction kinetics. By optimizing the above parameters, cubic cuprous oxide with particle sizes controllable in the range of 10–30 nm were synthesized. The x-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the single-phased nature of Cu2O crystal. Furthermore, the ratio between copper and oxygen atoms in the product was determined to be 1.96 using the Rietveld analysis and confirmed the purity of Cu2O nanoparticles. In addition, I–V characteristics suggested that the nanoparticles function as semiconductor and indicated the use of these cuprous nanocrystals as a functional material for the preparation of solar devices.