Direct deposition of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) film with different particle shapes has been achieved by a simple, one-step and inexpensive chemical bath deposition method with bargain glucose as reductant and trisodium citrate as complexant at low temperature (80 degrees C). The influences of supersaturation determined by the reaction conditions including glucose, trisodium citrate and copper ion concentration on the number density and particle morphology of the Cu2O films have been investigated in detail. The particle morphology of the film was octahedral at low copper ion concentration with excessive glucose; with the increased copper ion concentration at excessive glucose, the spherical particles were obtained. The mechanism of morphology control has been approached on the basic theory of a diffusion-limited progressive growth model under different kinetic conditions as dictated by ion concentration. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.