Pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) with 532 nm wavelength laser with 5 ns pulse duration is used to produce the nanostructure copper oxide and the effects of oxidizing media (deionized water and hydrogen peroxide) on the composition, morphology and optical properties of the product materials produced by PLAL were studied. XRD and TEM studies indicate that in the absence of hydrogen peroxide, the product material is in two phases (Cu/Cu2O) with the spherical nanoparticle structure, whereas in the presence of hydrogen peroxide in the liquid medium, the product material revealed other two phases (Cu/CuO) with nanorod-like structure. The optical studies revealed a considerable red shift (3.34-2.5 eV) in the band gap energy in the case of hydrogen peroxide in the liquid medium in PLAL synthesis compared to the one in the absence of it. Also the product material in the presence of hydrogen peroxide in the liquid medium showed a reduced photoluminescence intensity indicating the reduced electron-hole recombination rate. The red shift in the band gap energy and the reduced electron-hole recombination rate make the product material an ideal photocatalyst to harvest solar radiation for various applications. The most relevant signals on the FTIR spectrum for the samples are the absorption bands in the region between 450 and 700 cm(-1) which are the characteristics bands of copper oxygen bonds. The reported laser ablation approach for the synthesis of Cu2O and CuO nanoparticles has the advantages of being clean method with controlled particle properties. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.