CuO nanostructures: Synthesis, characterization, growth mechanisms, fundamental properties, and applications

In this article, we present recent advances that we have achieved toward improving the properties of anodically formed semiconducting TiO2 nanotubes as well as nanowire arrays as electrodes for oxidative photoelectrochemistry. The morphology, crystallinity, composition, and illumination geometry of nanotube or nanowire arrays are critical factors in their performance as photoelectrodes. We discuss the key aspects relating to each factor and the advances achieved in improving each. With respect to the more fully investigated nanotube arrays, the ability to control the morphological parameters such as pore size, tube length, and wall thickness of the nanotube architecture has enabled high performance in applications such as water photoelectrolysis, photocatalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, and heterojunction TiO2−polymer hybrid solar cells. We begin by reviewing the photoelectrochemical performance of state-of-the-art nanotube arrays fabricated on planar substrates. We then present more recent results rel...

Recent Advances in the Use of TiO2 Nanotube and Nanowire Arrays for Oxidative Photoelectrochemistry

Recently, great attention has been focused on hydrogen as a potential energy vector and on the use of water-splitting technology as a clean and renewable means to generate hydrogen using solar energy. Numerous attempts have been made to develop photo-catalysts that work not only under UV light but also under visible-light illumination to efficiently utilize solar energy. One of the most well-known photo-catalysts used in the past forty years is TiO 2 . Despite having excellent characteristics as a photo-catalyst, TiO 2 also has some limitations. This paper presents modification techniques that can be used to improve the drawbacks of TiO 2 , such as the addition of sacrificial agents into the solution. The role of sacrificial agents, such as methanol and several recent achievements by previous researchers have also been included.

Hydrogen from photo-catalytic water splitting process: A review

Nanotechnology has opened new and exhilarating opportunities for exploring glucose biosensing applications of the newly prepared nanostructured materials. Nanostructured metal-oxides have been extensively explored to develop biosensors with high sensitivity, fast response times, and stability for the determination of glucose by electrochemical oxidation. This article concentrates mainly on the development of different nanostructured metal-oxide [such as ZnO, Cu(I)/(II) oxides, MnO2, TiO2, CeO2, SiO2, ZrO2, and other metal-oxides] based glucose biosensors. Additionally, we devote our attention to the operating principles (i.e., potentiometric, amperometric, impedimetric and conductometric) of these nanostructured metal-oxide based glucose sensors. Finally, this review concludes with a personal prospective and some challenges of these nanoscaled sensors.

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A comprehensive review of glucose biosensors based on nanostructured metal-oxides.

Nano RD program 
Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF)
Korean Government (MOST)

Gram‐Scale Synthesis of Cu2O Nanocubes and Subsequent Oxidation to CuO Hollow Nanostructures for Lithium‐Ion Battery Anode Materials

This paper describes a vapor-phase approach to the facial synthesis of cupric oxide (CuO) nanowires supported on the surfaces of various copper substrates that include grids, foils, and wires. A typical procedure simply involved the thermal oxidation of these substrates in air and within the temperature range from 400 to 700 °C. Electron microscopic studies indicated that these nanowires had a controllable diameter in the range of 30−100 nm with lengths of up to 15 μm by varying the temperature and growth time. Electron diffraction and high-resolution TEM studies implied that each CuO nanowire was a bicrystal divided by a (111) twin plane in its middle along the longitudinal axis. A possible mechanism was also proposed to account for the growth of these CuO nanowires.

Xuchuan Jiang

Papers

CuO Nanowires Can Be Synthesized by Heating Copper Substrates in Air