Effect of Microwave Synthesis Conditions on the Structure of Nickel Hydroxide Nanosheets

A protocol for rapid, microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of nickel hydroxide nanosheets under mildly acidic conditions is presented, and the effect of reaction temperature and time on the material's structure is examined. All reaction conditions studied result in aggregates of layered α-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets. The reaction temperature and time strongly influence the structure of the material and product yield. Synthesizing α-Ni(OH)2 at higher temperatures increases the reaction yield, lowers the interlayer spacing, increases crystalline domain size, shifts the frequencies of interlayer anion vibrational modes, and lowers the pore diameter. Longer reaction times increase reaction yields and result in similar crystalline domain sizes. Monitoring the reaction pressure in situ shows that higher pressures are obtained at higher reaction temperatures. This microwave-assisted synthesis route provides a rapid, high-throughput, scalable process that can be applied to the synthesis and production of a variety of transition metal hydroxides used for numerous energy storage, catalysis, sensor, and other applications.