Shape selective growth of single crystalline MnOOH multipods and 1D nanowires by a reductive hydrothermal method

Single crystalline MnOOH multipods were synthesized by a reductive hydrothermal method for the first time based on the use of PEG200 to reduce KMnO4. When the surfactant, i.e. cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), was added into the starting reactant, one-dimensional (1D) single crystalline MnOOH nanowires were formed instead of multipods. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were employed to characterize the microstructure of the products. A possible formation mechanism was proposed. The intermediate products with a lamellar morphology rolled into multipods or nanowires when different surfactants were absorbed on their surface during the further reaction process.