Facile and Scalable Fabrication of CuO Nanoflakes with Excellent Catalytic Properties

Well dispersed CuO nanoflakes were successfully achieved via a fast and self-heating route. The physical properties of the as-prepared products were analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). Meanwhile, the catalytic activity and the catalytic advantage of CuO nanostructures are discussed with the help of first-order kinetics investigation for methylene blue degradation. It is found that self-heating in the reaction mixture and formation of cellular CuO network fully filled with oxygen bubble are mainly responsible for synthesis of CuO nanoflakes. Meanwhile, the as-obtained CuO nanoflakes possessed high specific surface area and exhibited high catalytic characteristics with wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation in methylene blue solution. The present work is likely to be favorable for taking full advantage of the catalytic activity of CuO nanostructures with high specific surface area for the wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation of dyes.