Ultrasound-assisted synthesis and characterization of ultrathin copper nanowhiskers

Nanoscale copper is of great importance in material science due to its excellent catalytic properties. This work proposed a facile one-step route to synthesize ultrathin copper nanowhisker by using ultrasound-assisted polyol method. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) studies showed that the copper nanowhiskers with diameters of 1.5-5 nm and lengths of 20-60 nm were obtained. The traces of the copper microplates were formed as the byproduct. The effect of ultrasound was also investigated. The results indicated that the ultrasonic power played an important role in the formation of copper nanowhiskers. The formation mechanism for copper nanowhiskers had also been proposed.