Growth of Cu2O Nanocrystals on Stainless Steel Substrates by Electrodeposition in Presence of Surfactants

Cathodic reduction of Cu(II) lactate complex in the presence of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide results in the deposition of nanoparticulate Cu(2)O (crystallite size of 32-53 run) onto the stainless steel substrate. In the absence of the surfactant, large micrometer-sized crystallites with a truncated octahedral morphology are deposited. The UV/visible absorption spectra of the agglomerated nanosized crystallites show a significant blueshift of the lambda(max) (30-80 nm, 0.12-0.36 eV) with increasing surfactant concentration. This work demonstrates the use of electrochemistry in the synthesis of nanoparticulate oxide coatings. (C) 2009 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3183816] All rights reserved.