Microemulsion-based synthesis of hierarchical 3D flowerlike CuO nanostructures

•Hierarchical 3D flowerlike CuO nanostructures were synthesized via a microemulsions-based method for the first time.•Hierarchical 3D flowerlike CuO with average diameter altering from 5 to 7 μm consists of interconnected nanowires with average diameters of about 100 nm.•A series of intermediates were trapped to investigate the formation process of 3D flowerlike CuO nanostructures.

The uniform hierarchical 3D flowerlike copper oxide (CuO) nanostructures, which were composed of interconnected nanowires, have been successfully prepared via a reverse microemuclsion method. The detailed morphology and structure of the synthesized hierarchical nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). A series of observed intermediates disclose the possible process of forming 3D flowerlike CuO. An oriented aggregation growth process mediated by the microemulsion droplet building blocks might take place during the formation of initial 3D flowerlike CuO. And the novel 3D flowerlike and straw-like CuO nanostructures are produced as reaction time goes on, which might experience an Ostwald ripening process.

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