Synthesis and characterization of monodispersed copper oxide and their precursor powder

•Heating urea–copper nitrate solution produced spherical CuCO3∙Cu(OH)2 fine particles.•Heating urea–copper chloride solution produced bipyramidal Cu2(OH)3Cl fine particles.•At 700 °C, both CuCO3∙Cu(OH)2 and Cu2(OH)3Cl transformed into uniform fine particles of CuO.•CuO particles were porous and maintained their shape integrity to a maximum extent.

Monodispersed powders of copper oxide precursor were produced in spherical and bipyramidal particle morphologies by the urea-based homogenous precipitation method. Composition of the starting reactant mixtures and synthesis conditions had significant effect on the morphology of the precipitated particles. Extensive optimization of these parameters was thus performed, in order to explore the key factors responsible for the production of monodispersed systems of the precipitated powders. It was observed that the particles obtained from the copper nitrate–urea system were spherical and amorphous copper (II) basic carbonate, while those produced in copper–chloride–urea solution were bi-pyramidal and crystalline copper (II) basic chloride. On controlled calcination at the elevated temperatures both of these compounds transformed into crystalline copper oxide powders with identical crystal structures, though with different crystallite sizes. In both cases, the particles retained their original shape integrity to a maximum extent and showed no sign of sintering.

Graphical abstractMonodispersed powders of amorphous CuCO3∙Cu(OH)2 and crystalline Cu2(OH)3Cl were produced in spherical and bipyramidal morphologies by the urea-based homogeneous precipitation method. On calcination at 700 °C, both converted into porous crystalline CuO particles.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide