Preparation of copper–silicon dioxide nanoparticles with chemical vapor synthesis

Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor synthesis was used to produce copper nanoparticle composites in an amorphous silicon dioxide, i.e., either copper nanoparticles coated with amorphous silicon dioxide or copper nanoparticles embedded in amorphous silicon dioxide matrix. Synthesized metal–organic copper(I) complex was used as a precursor that provided well-defined ratio (1:2) of copper and silicon. The thermal decomposition of the Cu(I) complex molecule leads to homogenous nucleation and formation of copper nanoparticles which are subsequently coated with Si/SiO₂ in the gas phase. The decomposition was greatly enhanced when reductive atmosphere, i.e., H₂/N₂ 10 v% were used instead of pure nitrogen. A narrow size distribution with the geometric mean diameter of the particle agglomerates around 30 nm was observed while the primary size of the copper core particles was around 5 nm.