Synthesis of Cu2O nanoboxes, nanocubes and nanospheres by polyol process and their adsorption characteristic

Nanoboxes, nanocubes and nanospheres of cuprous oxides were readily synthesized by reducing Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O with ethylene glycol at different concentrations of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone); the formation mechanism of as-synthesized Cu2O nanostructures was investigated. Moreover, we report the highly selective adsorption characteristic of as-synthesized Cu2O nanostructures to anionic dyes and suggest the mechanism is electrostatic adsorption.