Fabrication of nanowire-like cuprous oxide in aqueous solutions of a triblock copolymer

Cu2O nanowires were successfully fabricated by a simple liquid reaction in the presence of amphiphilic triblock copolymer (P123). The concentration of copolymer and aging time drastically changed the morphology of Cu2O samples. XPS results show that tiny amount of CuO as well as some absorbed O2 molecules existed on the surface of the Cu2O nanowires. Thermal analysis shows that the triblock copolymer owns a higher decomposition temperature (∼645 °C) than that of pervious research results and this may be the result of strong interaction between P123 and Cu2O. The band gap of Cu2O nanowires was estimated about 2.23 eV and shifting of the band gap with decreasing of the particle size could also be found. The photoluminance property study reveals that the intrinsic emission peak of Cu2O nanowires can be observed at 546 nm under the excitation wavelength of 400 nm (Xe lamp was used as the excitation light source).