Controlled reduction of Cu2+ to Cu+ with an N,O-type chelate under hydrothermal conditions to produce Cu2O nanoparticles

N,O-type organic chelates reduced coordinated Cu2+ ions under hydrothermal reaction conditions to produce Cu2O/CuO nanoparticles. Chelates in which the N and 0 atoms are closely spaced produced smaller amounts of CuO nanoparticles, indicating their higher ability to reduce Cu2+ ions to Cu+ ions. [Cu(Gly)(2)](2) with the shortest ligand chain length produced only Cu2O nanoparticles and, therefore, can be used as a single molecule precursor for the synthesis of Cu2O nanoparticles. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.