Synthesis of well-defined copper nanocubes by a one-pot solution process

A simple one-pot solution-phase method was developed to synthesize well-defined copper nanocubes with an edge length in the range of 100 ± 25 nm. Copper nanocubes were produced by using ascorbic acid as a reducing agent and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as a capping agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectroscopy (UV–vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) were used to characterize the resulting nanoparticles. The influence of concentration, temperature and additives on the formation of Cu nanoparticles was investigated. Some nano-polyhedra and nanospheres were also fabricated. Shape-controlled synthesis of copper nanoparticles was partially achieved.