PEG还原Cu(Ⅱ)制备Cu2O纳米立方晶

Cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) nanocubes have successfully been prepared through a simple and novel method by heating Cu(ethyl acetoacetate)₂ (Cu(EAC)₂) and poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) in the absence of other chemicals. The PEG acted as the reducing agent as well as the stabilizer. The XRD results indicated that no metal Cu or CuO developed in the preparation process, and only Cu₂O nanoparticles with the cuprous structure were produced. The TEM images revealed that all the Cu₂O nanoparticles were cubic-shaped or square-shaped particles. The size and shape of Cu₂O nanocubes were dependent on concentrations of the Cu(Ⅱ) precursor, reactant temperatures, and chain length of PEGs. It is interesting that the reducing reactivity of PEG was sensitive to its chain length, and the reduction reaction activity was drastically dropped with the decreasing of polymer′s chain length.