Synthesis of Cu(OH)2 Nanowires at Aqueous−Organic Interfaces

Fabrication of ultrathin CuO nanowires augmenting oriented attachment crystal growth directed self-assembly of Cu(OH)2 colloidal nanocrystals

Augmenting the oriented attachment (OA) crystal growth phenomena, the fabrication of ultrathin CuO nanowires is demonstrated from self-assembled one-dimensional (1D) nanowires of Cu(OH)₂ nanocrystals for the first time.

Na+ doping induced changes in the reduction and charge transport characteristics of Al2O3-stabilized, CuO-based materials for CO2 capture

We report on the influence of Na⁺ doping on the local structure, electronic properties and cyclic redox characteristics of alumina-stabilized copper oxide based materials for chemical looping combustion based CO₂ capture architectures.

Hydrothermal preparation of nest-like CuO nanostructures for non-enzymatic amperometric detection of hydrogen peroxide

Unique nest-like CuO nanostructures with a lot of pores on the surface were prepared through a simple hydrothermal reaction, which exhibited excellent electrochemical catalytic performance towards H₂O₂ reduction.

A new and facile way to fabricate catalytically active block copolymer/Au nanoparticle multilayer thin films at the air/liquid interface

A catalytically active multilayer film of PB-b-P2VP doped with Au nanoparticles was fabricated through liquid/liquid interfacial mass transfer, self-assembly in an aqueous phase and adsorption at the air/liquid interface.

A simple route to vertical array of quasi-1D ZnO nanofilms on FTO surfaces: 1D-crystal growth of nanoseeds under ammonia-assisted hydrolysis process

A simple method for the synthesis of ZnO nanofilms composed of vertical array of quasi-1D ZnO nanostructures (quasi-NRs) on the surface was demonstrated via a 1D crystal growth of the attached nanoseeds under a rapid hydrolysis process of zinc salts in the presence of ammonia at room temperature. In a typical procedure, by simply controlling the concentration of zinc acetate and ammonia in the reaction, a high density of vertically oriented nanorod-like morphology could be successfully obtained in a relatively short growth period (approximately 4 to 5 min) and at a room-temperature process. The average diameter and the length of the nanostructures are approximately 30 and 110 nm, respectively. The as-prepared quasi-NRs products were pure ZnO phase in nature without the presence of any zinc complexes as confirmed by the XRD characterisation. Room-temperature optical absorption spectroscopy exhibits the presence of two separate excitonic characters inferring that the as-prepared ZnO quasi-NRs are high-crystallinity properties in nature. The mechanism of growth for the ZnO quasi-NRs will be proposed. Due to their simplicity, the method should become a potential alternative for a rapid and cost-effective preparation of high-quality ZnO quasi-NRs nanofilms for use in photovoltaic or photocatalytics applications.PACS: 81.07.Bc; 81.16.-c; 81.07.Gf.

Synthesis of inorganic-organic layered compounds using immiscible liquid-liquid systems under the distribution law

A method for synthesizing inorganic-organic layered compounds is proposed using a biphasic liquid-liquid system in one pot. Layered basic zinc benzoate (LBZB) compounds were chosen, and their formation was investigated starting from a xylene-water system. In a typical synthesis, a xylene phase dissolving benzoic acid was allowed to stand in contact with an equal amount of an aqueous phase dissolving zinc nitrate hexahydrate and urea. A role of urea is to supply OH(-) gradually by hydrolysis at an elevated temperature. The biphasically separated solutions were maintained at 80 °C, and then LBZB was obtained in the aqueous phase. Two kinds of layered structures with a basal spacing of 27.14 and 14.77 Å were formed by changing a C(6)H(5)COOH/Zn molar ratio. Chemical compositions of the 27.14 and the 14.77 Å layered phases were estimated to be Zn(OH)(1.74)(C(6)H(5)COO)(0.26)·0.29H(2)O and Zn(OH)(1.12)(C(6)H(5)COO)(0.88)·0.21H(2)O, respectively. The 27.14 Å phase could also be deposited as a film on substrates by heterogeneous nucleation. The film consisted of standing platelike particles and exhibited a two-dimensional structure, which could be converted to ZnO by heating. The relationship between the initial solution compositions and the final solid products was systematically examined on the basis of distribution law for benzoic acid in the xylene-water system.

CuO based inorganic-organic hybrid nanowires: a new type of highly sensitive humidity sensor

The organic surfactant template method has been widely used for the preparation of CuO nanorods, nanotubes and nanowires. However, the surfactants in this system have no effect on the properties of the final products because they are flushed away. In this work, we used this method to synthesize a novel type of inorganic-organic hybrid nanowire via the hybridization between CuO and amphiphilic oligomer octadecyl, polyethylene glycol di-butenetrioate (O-B-EG-B). Here O-B-EG-B, as a structure director, was not flushed away but remained in the prepared hybrid nanowires because it was bound around CuO or entrapped in interior CuO. The hybrid nanowires showed CuO cores and P(O-B-EG-B) shells when the concentration of O-B-EG-B was 0.4 mg ml(-1), but exhibited P(O-B-EG-B) cores and CuO shells when the concentration of O-B-EG-B was 4.0 mg ml(-1). We found that the hybrid nanowires with P(O-B-EG-B) cores and CuO shells could sense a slight change in the relative humidity (RH) and respond by rapidly changing their conductivity. The resistance changed by about two orders of magnitude within the humidity range from 5% to 83.8%. Moreover, a humidity sensor based on this type of nanowire not only showed long-term stability but also exhibited excellent reversibility to moisture changes in air.

Catalytic growth of silica nanoparticles in controlled shapes at planar liquid/liquid interfaces

The shape of silica nanoparticles is controlled when they are synthesized at liquid/liquid interfaces; the combination of organic and aqueous phases that form the interface can change the shape of silica into a triangle, cube, or rod.

A porous composite film synthesized by the disproportionation of a copper(i) complex at the toluene/water interface

Porous copper/copper oxide films form via spontaneous reduction at the liquid/liquid interface.

Copper Hydroxide Nanoneedle and Nanotube Arrays Fabricated by Anodization of Copper

Cu(OH)2 nanoneedle and nanotube arrays were electrochemically synthesized by anodization of a copper foil in an aqueous solution of KOH. The nanoneedles and nanotubes were constructed from nanosheets of Cu(OH)2. Controlling the electrochemical conditions can qualitatively modulate the lengths, amounts, and shapes of Cu(OH)2 nanostructures. The composition of as-prepared Cu(OH)2 nanostructures has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction and select-area electron diffraction. The influences of the KOH concentration of the aqueous electrolyte, the reaction temperature, and current density on the morphology of Cu(OH)2 nanostructures were investigated, and the formation mechanism of the nanostructures is discussed. Furthermore, Cu(OH)2 nanoneedles can be successfully transformed to CuO nanoneedles with little morphology change by heating. This work developed a simple, clean, and effective route for fabrication of large area Cu(OH)2 or CuO nanostructured films.

Fabrication of CuO Pricky Microspheres with Tunable Size by a Simple Solution Route

A simple aqueous solution route was introduced for the fabrication of CuO pricky microspheres (CPMs) using CuCl(2) x 2H(2)O, Na(2)(C(4)H(4)O(6)) x 3H(2)O and NaOH as starting materials. The CPMs were composed of compressed nanothorns exhibiting tapering feature with tip size of less than 10 nm, and the size of CPMs could be tuned from 100-200 nm to 4-6 microm. The effects of the molar ratios of tartrate anions and NaOH to Cu(2+) cations, reagent concentration, and reaction temperature on the products were investigated, showing that the morphology of CPMs was determined by the molar ratio of tartrate to Cu(2+) cations and the size was greatly affected by reagent concentration and the molar ratio of NaOH to Cu(2+) cations in the precursor solution. The fabrication of CPMs went through rapid nucleation of Cu(OH)(2), aggregation and in situ dehydration of Cu(OH)(2), oriented-aggregation-based growth, and normal crystal growth of CuO nanothorns. The nucleation and crystal growth were successfully separated by controlled releasing of Cu(2+) and OH(-) ions through the reversible reaction of Cu(2+) cations, OH(-), and C(4)H(4)O(6)(2-) anions.

Unidirectionally Aligned Copper Hydroxide Crystalline Nanorods from Two-Dimensional Copper Hydroxy Nitrate

We were able to synthesize unidirectionally aligned copper hydroxide nanorods from two-dimensional copper hydroxide nitrate by anion exchange reaction using NaOH without any membrane or template. The structural conversion from Cu2(OH)3NO3 to Cu(OH)2 was confirmed by XRD and FT-IR data. The synthesized copper hydroxide nanorods showed unidirectionally aligned and tightly bound arrays on a hexagonal plate, leading to giant nanorod bundles.