A simple solvothermal reduction route to copper and cuprous oxide

Pure copper nanocrystallites and cuprous oxide nanorods have been synthesized via solvothermal treatment of CuSO4 or CuSO4·5H2O and NaOH in pure ethanol and mixed solution of ethanol and deionized water at 140 °C for 10 h, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were used to investigate the different morphologies of the as-synthesized products. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were applied to characterize the composition and crystal phases of the products. It was proposed that the reducibility of ethanol was influenced by temperature and the addition of deionized water in the formation of different phases, which were realized by carefully controlling the experimental conditions.