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Controlling the Formation of Nanocavities in Kirkendall Nanoobjects through Sequential Thermal Ex Situ Oxidation and In Situ Reduction Reactions
Author(s) -
Mel AbdelAziz El,
Tessier PierreYves,
Buffiere Marie,
Gautron Eric,
Ding JunJun,
Du Ke,
Choi ChangHwan,
Konstantinidis Stephanos,
Snyders Rony,
Bittencourt Carla,
MolinaLuna Leopoldo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201600396
Subject(s) - kirkendall effect , materials science , oxide , nanotechnology , nanomaterials , nanorod , nanowire , nanostructure , nanoparticle , copper , thermal oxidation , copper oxide , chemical engineering , layer (electronics) , metallurgy , engineering
Controlling the porosity, the shape, and the morphology of Kirkendall hollow nanostructures is the key factor to tune the properties of these tailor‐made nanomaterials which allow in turn broadening their applications. It is shown that by applying a continuous oxidation to copper nanowires following a temperature ramp protocol, one can synthesize cuprous oxide nanotubes containing periodic copper nanoparticles. A further oxidation of such nanoobjects allows obtaining cupric oxide nanotubes with a bamboo‐like structure. On the other hand, by applying a sequential oxidation and reduction reactions to copper nanowires, one can synthesize hollow nanoobjects with complex shapes and morphologies that cannot be obtained using the Kirkendall effect alone, such as necklace‐like cuprous oxide nanotubes, periodic solid copper nanoparticles or hollow cuprous oxide nanospheres interconnected with single crystal cuprous oxide nanorods, and aligned and periodic hollow nanospheres embedded in a cuprous oxide nanotube. The strategy demonstrated in this study opens new avenues for the engineering of hollow nanostructures with potential applications in gas sensing, catalysis, and energy storage.