Effects of process parameters on cu powder synthesis yield and particle size in a wet-chemical process

This study presents a simple wet-chemical process to prepare several micron-size Cu powders. Moreover, changes in powder synthesis yield and particle size are examined with different solvents, synthesis temperatures, and amounts of reducing agent during the synthesis. As a reducing agent and capping agent, L-ascorbic acid and polyvinyl pyrrolidone were used, respectively. The yields in distilled water or an ethylene glycol (EG)/distilled water mixture were higher than that in EG alone, and the yield increased with increasing temperature owing to a lower δ Gred value. Increasing the L-ascorbic acid concentration also increased the yield. The Cu powder synthesized in 3 h at 90°C in distilled water with 272.8 mM of L-ascorbic acid showed the lowest average particle size of 2.52 μm, indicating mechanisms of short burst nucleation and reduced growth via the increased reduction rate of Cu ions. It is estimated that the nucleation step was nearly completed within 10 min in this system. The Cu powders synthesized in an ethylene glycol/distilled water mixture presented an average particle size of 3.76 μm and the highest yield of 87.9%.