Direct, Rapid, Facile
Photochemical Method for Preparing
Copper Nanoparticles and Copper Patterns
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Abstract
We develop a facile method for preparing copper nanoparticles
and
patterned surfaces with copper stripes by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation
of a mixture solution containing a photoinitiator and a copper–amine
coordination compound. The copper–amine compound is formed
by adding diethanol amine to an ethanol solution of copper chloride.
Under UV irradiation, free radicals are generated by photoinitiator
decomposition. Meanwhile, the copper–amine coordination compound
is rapidly reduced to copper particles because the formation of the
copper–amine coordination compound prevents the production
of insoluble cuprous chloride. Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) is used as a
capping agent to prevent the aggregation of the as-prepared copper
nanoparticles. The capping agent increases the dispersion of copper
nanoparticles in the ethanol solution and affects their size and morphology.
Increasing the concentration of the copper–amine coordination
compound to 0.1 M directly forms a patterned surface with copper stripes
on the transparent substrate. This patterned surface is formed through
the combination of the heterogeneous nucleation of copper nanoparticles
and photolithography. We also investigate the mechanism of photoreduction
by UV–vis spectroscopy and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry