Room Temperature Synthesis of Cu2O Nanospheres: Optical Properties and Thermal Behavior

The present work reports a simple and easy wet chemistry synthesis of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanospheres at room temperature without surfactants and using different precursors. Structural characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron mic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microscopy and microanalysis 2015-02, Vol.21 (1), p.108-119
Main Authors: Nunes, Daniela, Santos, Lídia, Duarte, Paulo, Pimentel, Ana, Pinto, Joana V., Barquinha, Pedro, Carvalho, Patrícia A., Fortunato, Elvira, Martins, Rodrigo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Calorimetry
Copper
Experiments
Nanocrystals
Nanoparticles
Nitrates
Optical properties
Scanning electron microscopy
SPMicros Special Section
Surfactants
Temperature
X-ray diffraction
X-ray spectroscopy
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Summary:The present work reports a simple and easy wet chemistry synthesis of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanospheres at room temperature without surfactants and using different precursors. Structural characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with focused ion beam and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The optical band gaps were determined from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photoluminescence behavior of the as-synthesized nanospheres showed significant differences depending on the precursors used. The Cu2O nanospheres were constituted by aggregates of nanocrystals, in which an on/off emission behavior of each individual nanocrystal was identified during transmission electron microscopy observations. The thermal behavior of the Cu2O nanospheres was investigated with in situ X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry experiments. Remarkable structural differences were observed for the nanospheres annealed in air, which turned into hollow spherical structures surrounded by outsized nanocrystals.
ISSN:1431-9276
1435-8115
DOI:10.1017/S1431927614013348