A new simple route for the preparation of nanosized copper selenides under different conditions

In this paper copper selenide nanostructures were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method based on the reaction between copper salt and SeCl4 in water. The reduction reaction of SeCl4 to Se and then Se2− was carried out by three types of reductants: N2H4.H2O, KBH4, and metallic Zn. Different compositions of copper selenides were obtained by changing the molar ratio of the precursors. At the temperature of 120 °C for a 12 h period of time, when the molar ratio of Cu/Se is 1:1 or 2:1, the product is pure and found to be CuSe and Cu1.8Se, respectively. A mixture of the different phases of copper selenides is obtained by making use of 1:2, 3:2 and 3:1 M ratios between Cu and Se. With an increasing reaction temperature up to 210 °C, the mixture of Cu3Se2 and CuSe is prepared from 1:1 M ratio of precursors. The effects of copper salt, surfactant, amount of hydrazine, reaction time and temperature on the morphology and particle size of products are also investigated. The synthesis can be performed conveniently and safely. The products are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Photoluminescence (PL) is used to study the optical property of copper selenides.