Chemical Processes of the Formation of Copper(I) Oxide on Copper Foil under Hydrothermal Conditions.

In this paper, we study the nucleation and growth of a copper(I) oxide layer during hydrothermal treatment of copper foil in an alkaline solution. Experimental (X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy) data, Gibbs free energy calculations, and analysis of the growth process in terms of the Cabrera–Mott approach lead us to conclude that the hydroxide anion and dissolved oxygen concentrations play a key role in determining the phase composition and morphology of the hydrothermal treatment product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]