Formation of volatile copper carbonyl during the preparation of copper nanoparticles in the copper acetate hydrate-polyacrylonitrile heterogeneous system under IR radiation

The products of reactions induced by IR heating in the copper acetate hydrate-polyacrylonitrile system and the intermediate Cu compounds formed during the preparation of Cu nanoparticles were studied by powder X-ray diffraction, atomic absorption spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and IR spectroscopy. Mass spectra of the volatile products formed from the nanocomposite contain peaks typical of the CuCO molecular ion. After treatment of the nanocomposite at 500°C, the copper content in the composite decreased 10-fold as a result of evolution of volatile CuCO.