The Role of Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone and Ethylene Glycol in the Synthesis of Submicrometer Copper Particles

Abstract

Although copper nanoparticles exhibit exceptional advantages such as high electrical conductivity, sintering properties, and antibacterial activity, they face challenges including stringent storage requirements, difficulty in direct application, the need for precise surface modification, and high production costs. To address these issues, this study employs a simple and green one-step synthesis method to prepare highly stable and well-dispersed spherical submicrometer copper particles with an average size of ≈140 nm. In this article, nontoxic polyvinylpyrrolidone and ethylene glycol (EG) act as reducing agents, while polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) also serves as a capping agent and sodium hydroxide functions as a pH regulator. Utilizing the multifunctional properties of these materials, the method reduces the variety of additives required, simplifies the synthesis process, and lowers production costs. Finally, the mechanism of the one-step synthesis of submicrometer copper particles is discussed, which primarily relies on the reduction of copper ions by PVP and EG under alkaline conditions to form spherical submicrometer copper particles.