Porous Ni/β-Ni(OH)2 superstructures: rapid solvothermal synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical property

The porous Ni/β-Ni(OH)2 superstructures have been successfully prepared via a simple, fast one-pot solvothermal route in the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), using NiCl2·6H2O and NaBH4 as the original reactants. The reaction was carried out in ethylene glycol at 170°C for 1h. The morphology of the obtained product could be controlled by adjusting the reaction time and the surfactant. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), Infrared (IR) spectrometry, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The electrochemical property of the as-obtained superstructures was investigated through the cyclic voltammogram (CV) measurements. It was found that the as-obtained porous Ni/β-Ni(OH)2 superstructures exhibited good electrochemical properties and could be used as electrochemical sensors for the detection of some organic small molecules such as hydrochinone, pyrocatechol, and glucose.