One-pot synthesis of single-crystalline Cu2O hollow nanocubes

Single-crystalline Cu2O hollow nanocubes have been successfully synthesized via a simple wet chemical route in the absence of any surfactants or templates. By studying the growth process of the Cu2O hollow nanocubes, we found that the Cu2O hollow nanocubes were formed through a reducing and simultaneously etching process. The speed of reducing Cu(OH)(2) into Cu2O was much faster than the speed of etching Cu2O. As a result, Cu2O solid nanocubes were firstly formed, and then the solid nanocubes were gradually etched into hollow nanocubes. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.