Synthesis of Cu_2O nanowhiskers with CTAB as a template in water-in-oil microemulsion system

摘要

Dispersed cuprite (Cu2O) nanowhiskers were synthesized in a water/butanol/cyclohexane/cetyl trimethyl ammo-nium bromide (CTAB) water-in-oil microemulsion system at 25°C. The nanowhiskers with a diameter of about 8 nm ex-hibit a well-crystallized one-dimensional (1D) structure over several hundreds nanometers in length and mainly grow alongthe direction. However, without CTAB, only cubic and hexagonal bulks are obtained. Without emulsifier, short andthick nanowhiskers can be prepared but they are apt to agglomerate. The possible growth mechanism of Cu2O nanowhiskersis speculated. The surfactant and the microemulsion system are related to the 1D shape formation and the even dispersion ofCu2O nanomaterials, respectively.