Synthesis, Characterization, and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Copper Nanoparticles

In this paper, copper nanoparticles were prepared by the reduction of copper(II) acetate in water and 2-ethoxyethanol using hydrazine under reflux. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibit a distinct absorption peak in the region 572−582 nm. The average size variation from 6.6 to 22.7 nm in ethoxyethanol and from 15.5 to 30.2 nm in water was achieved by the addition of various amounts of a protective polymer (poly( N -vinylpyrrolidone)). The nonlinear optical properties of the copper colloids were first measured using the Z -scan technique. The χ (3) /α 0 values obtained were found to be of the magnitude of 10 - 11 −10 - 12 esu cm, which are in good agreement with the reported values obtained for copper nanoparticles embedded in glass.