OICC Press International Nano Letters 2228-5326 6 1 (March 2016) 2015 11 09 A chemical reduction approach to the synthesis of copper nanoparticles 10.1007/s40089-015-0163-6 EN Ayesha Khan Department of Environmental Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 46000, PK Audil Rashid Department of Environmental Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 46000, PK Rafia Younas Department of Environmental Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 46000, PK Ren Chong Research Center of Environmental Policy and Management, School of Public Affairs, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, CN Journal Article 2015 11 09 Abstract Development of improved methods for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles is of high priority for the advancement of material science and technology. Herein, starch-protected zero-valent copper (Cu) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by a novel facile route. The method is based on the chemical reduction in aqueous copper salt using ascorbic acid as reducing agent at low temperature (80 °C). X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements were taken to investigate the size, structure and composition of synthesized Cu nanocrystals, respectively. Average crystallite size of Cu nanocrystals calculated from the major diffraction peaks using the Scherrer formula is about 28.73 nm. It is expected that the outcomes of the study take us a step closer toward designing rational strategies for the synthesis of nascent Cu nanoparticles without inert gas protection.