Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis of MnOOH Nanorods and Their Application

Single crystal manganese oxyhydroxide (MnOOH) nanorods were prepared under the condition of no extra template or surfactant by a simple hydrothermal route using potassium permanganate (KMnO4) as Mn source, water and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) as mixed solvent. By adjusting the reaction temperature, reaction time and the volume ratio of H2O/NMP, MnOOH nanorods with lengths up to 20 μm and square cross-sections of edge lengths in the range of 50∼400 nm were be facilely prepared. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The formation mechanism of MnOOH nanorods was preliminarily discussed based on the Ostwald's ripening process. Furthermore, Mn2O3 nanorods were obtained by calcination of MnOOH nanorods. Results show that the morphologies of MnOOH nanorods and Mn2O3 nanorods are almost the same.