Controlled Synthesis of Nanomaterials at the Undergraduate Laboratory: Cu(OH)2 and CuO Nanowires

Undergraduate-level laboratory experiments that involve the synthesis of nanomaterials with well-defined/controlled shapes are very attractive under the umbrella of nanotechnology education. Herein we describe a low-cost and facile experiment for the synthesis of Cu­(OH)2 and CuO nanowires comprising three main parts: (i) synthesis of Cu­(OH)2 nanowires by a precipitation approach followed by a calcination step that converts Cu­(OH)2 to CuO; (ii) use of Cu­(OH)2 and CuO nanowires as model systems to explore a variety of characterization techniques relevant in the context of solid-state chemistry, materials chemistry, and nanoscience; and (iii) presentation/discussion of the data. Other learning objectives include probing of chemical transformations at the nanoscale and the use of concepts borrowed from coordination chemistry to understand the formation mechanism of Cu­(OH)2 and CuO nanowires from a Cu2+(aq) precursor. This experiment can be performed with a relatively simple laboratory infrastructure and with instrumentation that is generally widely available. Moreover, students are able to integrate multidisciplinary concepts in a single activity and become introduced to/familiarized with a currently active research field (nanoscience) and its associated literature.