Generalized preparation of metal oxalate nano/submicro-rods by facile solvothermal method and their calcined products

A simple and generalized solvothermal method has been developed to synthesize MC2O4·2H2O (M = Co, Fe, Mg, Zn) nano/submicro-rods without the assistance of soft/hard template. Ethylene glycol/water mixed solutions were testified to play an important role by investigating the nano/submicro-rods formation by using CoC2O4·2H2O as a model. The phase composition and morphology of the as-obtained oxalates and their calcined products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the present method can be applied to total synthesis of MC2O4·2H2O (M = Co, Fe, Mg, Zn) nano/submicro-rods and the as-prepared oxalate nano/submicro-rods were converted to one demensional metal oxide nanostructures while their original frame structures were well maintained.

► MC2O4·2H2O (M = Co, Fe, Mg, Zn) nano/submicro-rods were successfully prepared.
► The oxalates were prepared by solvothermal method without assistance of template.
► The metal oxide nano/submicro-rods were obtained by calcining the oxalate precursor.
► The as-prepared metal oxide nano/submicro-rods were built by plenty of nanoparticles.