J. Thermal stability of Cu nanoparticles

The synthesis of metallic Cu nanoparticles has been performed by low temperature chemical reduction method. Two different synthetic routes were employed with the aim to prevent the nascent Cu nanoparticles from oxidation during the preparation. In both process potassium borohydride (KBH4) was used as reducing agent. The water used throughout this work was Milli-Q ultrapure deaerated by bubbling Ar gas. The size, morphology, and crystalline nature of the synthesized Cu nanoparticles were determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Uv-vis absorption, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) coupled wit Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The behaviour of copper (Cu) nanoparticles to thermal cycles was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), carried out at different heating rates, using different crucibles. The results will be presented and discussed.