Synthesis of Copper Nanowires Using Monoethanolamine and the Application in Transparent Conductive Films

作者：Xiangyun Zha, Depeng Gong, Wanyu Chen, Lili Wu, Chaocan Zhang · 发表于：Nanomaterials · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/nano15090638 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Nanomaterials and Printing Technologies、Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials、Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research

Copper nanowires (Cu NWs) are considered a promising alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) and silver nanowires (Ag NWs) due to their excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, abundant reserves, and low cost. They have been widely applied in various optoelectronic devices. In this study, Cu NWs were synthesized using copper chloride (CuCl2) as the precursor, monoethanolamine (MEA) as the complexing agent, and hydrated hydrazine (N2H4) as the reducing agent under strongly alkaline conditions at 60 °C. Notably, this is the first time that MEA has been employed as a complexing agent in this synthesis method for Cu NWs. Through a series of experiments, the optimal conditions for the CuCl2–MEA–N2H4 system in Cu NWs synthesis were determined. This study revealed that the presence of amines plays a crucial role in nanowire formation, as the co-ordination of MEA with copper in this system provides selectivity for the nanowire growth direction. MEA prevents the excessive conversion of Cu(I) complexes into Cu2O octahedral precipitates and exhibits an adsorption effect during Cu NWs formation. The different adsorption tendencies of MEA at the nanowire ends and lateral surfaces, depending on its concentration, influence the growth of the Cu NWs, as directly reflected by changes in their diameter and length. At an MEA concentration of 210 mM, the synthesized Cu NWs have an average diameter of approximately 101 nm and a length of about 28 μm. To fabricate transparent conduc...