DIRECTING THE BRANCHING GROWTH OF CUPROUS OXIDE BY OH- IONS

Abstract

The effect of OH - ions on the branching growth of cuprous oxide microcrystals was systematically studied by a reduction route, where copper-citrate complexes were reduced by glucose under alkaline conditions. Different copper salts including Cu ( NO 3)2, CuCl 2, CuSO 4, and Cu ( Ac )2 were used in this work. The results indicate that the Cu 2 O branching growth habit is closely correlated to the concentration of OH - ions, which plays an important role in directing the diffusion-limited branching growth of Cu 2 O and influencing the reduction power of glucose. A variety of Cu 2 O branching patterns including 6-pod, 8-pod and 24-pod branches, have been achieved without using template and surfactant. The current method can provide a good platform for studying the growth mechanism of microcrystal branching patterns.