Microwave-assisted synthesis and electrochemical properties of urchin-like CuO micro-crystals

摘要

A facile microwave-assisted synthetic route has been successfully developed to prepare urchin-like CuO micro-crystals. The morphology and size of final products strongly depended on microwave power and reaction time. Furthermore, the concentration of Na_2CO_3 also influenced the morphology of final products. The phase, structures and morphologies of as-prepared products were investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The formation mechanism of CuO micro-crystals was discussed based on the experimental results. The electrochemical studies exhibited the correlations between the morphology of CuO micro-crystals and their catalytic properties. This effective microwave-assisted route may be a promising approach to prepare other transition metal oxides.