Octahedral cuprous oxide synthesized by hydrothermal method in ethanolamine/distilled water mixed solution

Octahedral cuprous oxide has been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method using copper sulphate and sodium hydroxide as raw materials in ethanol amine/distilled water mixed solution. The synthesized cuprous oxide powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy. XRD pattern exhibited that the nanocrystalline nature with cubic structure for the synthesized nanostructures. Analysis results reveal that pH value of solution plays an important role in the formation of octahedron shape for cuprous oxide. A probable formation mechanism of octahedral cuprous oxide is also proposed.