Sol-gel process for the synthesis of ultrafine MnO2 nanowires and nanorods

A low-temperature sol-gel process associated with different surfactants in ethanol solvent was applied to prepare ultrafine MnO2 nanowires and nanorods. The surfactants used in the synthesis procedure are crucial for the structure of products. Highly dispersed MnO2 nanowires was formed by assistance of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide while hierarchical particles assembled with nanowires were synthesized by usage of pluronic P123 triblock copolymer or Polyvinyl pyrrolidone. The free-standing sheet like structure aggregated with nanorods was obtained by using sodium dodecyl sulfate as a surfactant. All samples were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and the results indicated these MnO2 ultrafine nanostructures could be expediently produced by this facile method.