Abstract: | Cubic and octahedral Cu2O nano‐ and microcrystals were selectively synthesized via a simple wet chemical reduction route at room temperature, with CuCl2 and NaOH as starting reactants, and ascorbic acid or hydrazine hydrate as the reducer. Hydrazine hydrate could be preferentially adsorbed on different crystal faces of Cu2O, affecting the growth rate along the 〈100〉 to that along the 〈111〉 direction, which resulted in the formation of octahedral Cu2O crystals. When ascorbic acid was used as the reducer, the growth rate along the 〈100〉 to that along the 〈111〉 direction was different, which resulted in the formation of cubic Cu2O crystals. The size of cubic and octahedral Cu2O crystals could be varied by adjusting the molar ratio of OH– to Cu2+. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) |