Exploring the high activity of hierarchical copper oxide nanomaterials: Unveiling the influence of reduced size and enhanced surface area

Abstract

The development of 3D hierarchical architectures composed of nanometer-sized primary building blocks holds great promise for a wide range of applications. Here, we present a simple synthesis method for hierarchical CuO nanomaterials. HRTEM images revealed that the CuO nanoparticles had a diameter of 4–6 nm and were aggregated to form a hierarchical rod-like morphology. Nitrogen sorption isotherm indicated that the samples possessed high surface areas (125–190 m2/g). The obtained CuO nanomaterials demonstrated remarkable catalytic activity in the reduction of methyl orange, methyl red, and 4-nitrophenol. Furthermore, the CuO nanomaterials exhibited excellent recycling ability, making them highly favorable and efficient catalysts.

Keywords

• CuO nanomaterials
• Dye reduction
• Nitro reduction
• Hierarchical nanomaterials
• Recyclable catalyst