A low cost and simple chemical method of boiling copper plates in CuSO4 solution is used to prepare Cu2O layers. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) and optical absorption have been used to characterise these layers. It has been found that the layers consist of Cu2O phase with a thickness of about 1.4 mum for 60 minutes boiling in CuSO4 solution. The largest grain sizes are in the order of 1 mum and the layers contain cubic Cu2O phases. The layers are n-type in electrical conduction and the optical band gap observed is 2.2 eV. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.