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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Inorganic Chemistry

Chemical Control of Cuprite Crystal Growth and Morphology toward High-Index Surfaces

  • Gaia Novo1
  • Falak Shafiq1
  • Tatiana Rodriguez-Flores1
  • Roberto Scotti1
  • Massimo Moret1
  • Roberto Nisticò1
  1. 1Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, U5, INSTM, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy
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Abstract

The morphology of cuprite (Cu2O) crystals is governed by the interplay among reduction chemistry, solution composition, nucleation kinetics, and selective stabilization of crystallographic planes during growth. In this work, these factors were systematically investigated through two wet-chemical precipitation routes employing either glucose or a poly­(vinylpyrrolidone)/ascorbic acid (PVP/AA) system as reducing and crystal growth-directing agents. The glucose-mediated route showed a strong dependence on alkalinity and glucose concentration, producing a progressive evolution from octahedral to truncated octahedral, cubic, and complex polyhedral morphologies, exposing {100}, {110}, {111}, and high-index facets. In the PVP/AA system, decoupling the reducing and capping functions promoted the formation of rounded particles characterized by a dense arrangement of high-index facets, whereas octahedral crystals can also be obtained under specific conditions, demonstrating that the stabilization of {111} facets does not exclusively depend on glucose. Comparative experiments showed that PVP alone yielded CuO, whereas AA promoted Cu2O formation, highlighting the distinct roles of reduction and surface modification in the crystal growth. Overall, the results demonstrate that solution chemistry and selective surface interactions can be exploited to control Cu2O morphology and crystallographic facet exposure.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{novo2026chemical,
  title = {{Chemical Control of Cuprite Crystal Growth and Morphology toward High-Index Surfaces}},
  author = {Gaia Novo and Falak Shafiq and Tatiana Rodriguez-Flores and Roberto Scotti and Massimo Moret and Roberto Nisticò},
  journal = {Inorganic Chemistry},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6c03779},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6c03779},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Chemical Control of Cuprite Crystal Growth and Morphology toward High-Index Surfaces
AU  - Gaia Novo
AU  - Falak Shafiq
AU  - Tatiana Rodriguez-Flores
AU  - Roberto Scotti
AU  - Massimo Moret
AU  - Roberto Nisticò
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/10
JO  - Inorganic Chemistry
DO  - 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6c03779
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6c03779
AB  - The morphology of cuprite (Cu2O) crystals is governed by the interplay among reduction chemistry, solution composition, nucleation kinetics, and selective stabilization of crystallographic planes during growth. In this work, these factors were systematically investigated through two wet-chemical precipitation routes employing either glucose or a poly­(vinylpyrrolidone)/ascorbic acid (PVP/AA) system as reducing and crystal growth-directing agents. The glucose-mediated route showed a strong dependence on alkalinity and glucose concentration, producing a progressive evolution from octahedral to truncated octahedral, cubic, and complex polyhedral morphologies, exposing {100}, {110}, {111}, and high-index facets. In the PVP/AA system, decoupling the reducing and capping functions promoted the formation of rounded particles characterized by a dense arrangement of high-index facets, whereas octahedral crystals can also be obtained under specific conditions, demonstrating that the stabilization of {111} facets does not exclusively depend on glucose. Comparative experiments showed that PVP alone yielded CuO, whereas AA promoted Cu2O formation, highlighting the distinct roles of reduction and surface modification in the crystal growth. Overall, the results demonstrate that solution chemistry and selective surface interactions can be exploited to control Cu2O morphology and crystallographic facet exposure.
SN  - 0020-1669
SN  - 1520-510X
ER  -