Cuprous oxide, whose chemical formula is Cu2O, is an oxide of monovalent copper. It is a bright red powdery solid, almost insoluble in water. It disproportionates to divalent copper and copper element in acid solution, and gradually oxidizes to black in humid air. Copper oxide.
 
What is the role of cuprous oxide?
Copper oxide is used as a pigment in ceramics to produce blue, red and green colors, and sometimes gray, pink or black glazes. It has also been mistakenly used as a dietary supplement in animal feed. Due to the low biological activity, the absorbable copper is negligible. It is also used when welding with copper alloys.
 
Cuprous oxide is also mainly used to make antifouling paint on the bottom of ships (used to kill low-level marine animals), insecticides, and various copper salts, analytical reagents, red glass, and also used for copper plating and copper alloy plating solutions Preparation.
 
Red copper is a reduced form of ordinary black copper oxide (CuO). During normal oxidative firing, it will be converted to the form of copper oxide (CuO), which produces a normal green color in the glaze and glass. If it undergoes reduction firing, it will maintain its Cu2O structure to produce a typical copper-red color.

 

Is cuprous oxide dangerous?
Toxicity is caused by copper. Such fungicides are considered moderate to low hazards and are unlikely to cause poisoning unless swallowed deliberately. In this case, severe gastrointestinal irritation may occur. Chronic poisoning is manifested as: the local skin, hair and conjunctiva of workers exposed to copper compounds sometimes turn light yellow or black green, and there are dark red or magenta edges on the gums. It is irritating to the skin, and dust irritates the eyes and causes corneal ulcers.
 
When the dust content of this product in the air reaches 0.22~14mg/m3, it will cause acute poisoning after 1~2 hours of work, manifested as headache, weakness, redness of the pharynx and conjunctiva, nausea, muscle pain, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea, fatigue, body temperature Elevated. One day later, the body temperature can return to normal, but still a weakness, headache, dizziness, rapid pulse rate, and increased lymphocytes. For acute poisoning patients, use a certain concentration of K4[Fe(CN)6] solution for gastric lavage and take milk. The maximum allowable concentration in the air is 0.1mg/m³. Wear masks, dust-proof glasses, protective work clothes, and shower after work.
 
Metal-organic framework modified cuprous oxide nanowires for selective photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CH4
 
The team of Yun Hau Ng of the City University of Hong Kong revealed that the metal-organic framework modified cuprous oxide nanowires are used for the selective photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CH4. Related research results were published in "Germany Applied Chemistry" on December 28, 2020.
 
Improving the stability of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is very important for its practical application in artificial photosynthesis.
 
The researchers used a surfactant-free method to encapsulate Cu2O nanowires in a metal-organic framework (MOF) of Cu 3 (BTC) 2 (BTC=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate). This MOF not only inhibits the corrosion of Cu2O by water vapor but also promotes the charge separation and the absorption of Co2, thereby making the nanocomposite active and stable for selective photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methane (CH4) under mild reaction conditions Improved by 1.9 times. In addition, time-resolved photoluminescence confirmed the direct transfer of photogenerated electrons from the Cu2O conduction band to the LUMO energy level of unexcited Cu3(BTC)2.
 
This paper proposes an effective CO2 conversion strategy, through the synergy of charge separation and CO2 adsorption, to realize the photocatalytic reaction of MOFs and metal oxides integrated.
 
TRUNNANO (aka. Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd.) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years’ experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. The cuprous oxide powder produced by our company has high purity, fine particle size and impurity content. Please contact us if necessary.
 

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