A straightforward approach to oxide-free copper nanoparticles by thermal decomposition of a copper(I) precursor.

The synthesis of the novel copper(I) precursor [Cu(PPh3)2(O2CCH2OC2H4OC2H4OCH3)] and its application in the straightforward solution synthesis of oxide-free copper nanoparticles by mere thermal decomposition are reported; depending on the precursor concentration particles of sizes of 10 nm or 30 nm are obtained in narrow size distributions.