Abstract

Cu_2O nano cubes with high catalase activity were synthesized by reduction of freshly prepared Cu in distilled water at 40circC and their catalase activities of H_2O_2 were studied. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation showed that most of these nanocubes were uniform in size, with the average edge length of 30 nm. Selected area electron diffraction of TEM revealed that the nanocube consisted of single crystalline Cu_2O, but it changed to CuO phase. The catalase activity depends on the amount of both cuprite phase and surface area.

• Keywords: Cuprite;Hydrolysis catalase activity;Nanocube;