Study of the Crystallization Process of Cu2O Samples from Polycrystalline Copper Plates

An experimental study of the crystallization process of Cu₂O samples from polycrystalline copper plates is presented. The crystallization process consists of two stages: In the first stage polycrystalline copper plates were wholly oxidized at 1020 degC in air, in the second stage the Cu₂O samples were crystallized through an annealing process at temperatures in the range of 1040-1070 degC, by several hours to promote the increase in size of the crystallites constituting the initial Cu₂O sample. The Cu₂O samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements. With the processing conditions used in the annealing process, Cu₂O samples with single crystalline areas of more than 2 mm in diameter are observed. On the basis of the experimental results, a model for the crystallization of Cu₂O is presented.