Synthesis of Air-Stable Cu Nanoparticles Using Laser Reduction in Liquid

Abstract

We report the synthesis of air-stable Cu nanoparticles (NPs) using the bottom-up laser reduction in liquid method. Precursor solutions of copper acetlyacetonate in a mixture of methanol and isopropyl alcohol were irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses to produce Cu NPs. The Cu NPs were left at ambient conditions and analyzed at different ages up to seven days. TEM analysis indicates a broad size distribution of spherical NPs surrounded by a carbon matrix, with the majority of the NPs less than 10 nm and small numbers of large particles up to ∼100 nm in diameter. XRD collected over seven days confirmed the presence of fcc-Cu NPs, with some amorphous Cu2O, indicating the stability of the zero-valent Cu phase. Raman, FTIR, and XPS data for oxygen and carbon regions put together indicated the presence of a graphite oxide-like carbon matrix with oxygen functional groups that developed within the first 24 h after synthesis. The Cu NPs were highly active towards the model catalytic reaction of para-nitrophenol reduction in the presence of NaBH4.

Synthesis of copper nanoparticles by laser ablation

“…For colloidal solutions with synthesized copper nanoparticles, the absorption peak was in the region of ~ 520 nm (Figure 3b). Similar absorption spectra are presented in [2,8] in the study of colloidal solutions with copper nanoparticles obtained by laser ablation.…”

“…By this method, the synthesis takes place in a short time, chemically pure substances are formed, and hybrid materials of dissimilar metals can also be obtained. Also, the synthesized nanoparticles have high activity and are almost immediately ready for use [4,5].…”

Impact of Chemical and Physical Properties of Organic Solvents on the Gas and Hydrogen Formation during Laser Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles

“…Although the oxidizing species will be suppressed by this reductive environment the related formation of carbon shells around the nanoparticles may further positively or negatively affect their catalytic activity as previously shown in the literature. [97,98] Since the influence may be either positive or negative, further investigations regarding the used solvent's effect on the carbon shell thickness (and the particle diameter dependence of this thickness) are vital for the potential use of laser-synthesized nanoparticles in catalysis.…”

Understanding photochemical pathways of laser-induced metal ion reduction through byproduct analysis

“…No organic ligands were observed on the Au NPs synthesized in water/IPA, 18 but LRL of copper and silver acetylacetonate in IPA produced NPs with a carbon shell. 59,60…”