1) Monodispersed copper nanoparticles (range
12−28 nm) employing different concentrations of
L-ascorbic acid were synthesized by green method.
2) The characterization results indicate that a higher
L-ascorbic acid concentration leads to more effective
capping capacity and then forms smaller copper
nanoparticles. FTIR spectra show the presence of
polyhydroxyl structure on the surface of the copper
nanoparticle that gives an excellent dispersion effect on
copper nanoparticles.
3) The experimental investigation indicates that the
optimal conditions for the synthesis are 0.02 mol/L
concentration of CuCl2·2H2O and 0.10 mol/L
concentration of L-ascorbic acid at 353 K.
4) The catalytic activity of synthesized copper
nanoparticles was investigated in the oxidation of serine
in aqueous acidic medium. The study reveals that the
size of copper nanoparticles decreases as the catalytic
activity of copper nanoparticles increases.