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Abstract: Uniform Cu2O nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized through a facile additive-free aqueous solution route at room temperature. The structure and morphology of the products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the products were Cu2O nanocubes of 110–130nm in side length. The size of the nanocubes can be tuned from 20nm to 500nm by changing the concentration of the sodium hydroxide solution and the kind of copper salts. The visible-light photocatalytic properties of the as-obtained Cu2O products were investigated. The results showed that these Cu2O nanoparticles exhibited good photocatalytic activity towards methyl orange (MO). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Uniform copper hydroxyphosphate quadrangle star-like microcrystals with tunable size and microprism bundles have been achieved through a simple hydrothermal method. Reactions are conducted in a water system using CuSO4, NH4H2PO4 and NaOH as reactants without adding any surfactants. Structures and morphologies of the products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and UV–vis spectrometry. It was found that the size and morphology of the products depended strongly on the concentration and the molar ratio of the starting reagents. The possible mechanism of the products was discussed and the size dependent photocatalytic property of the products was investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Uniform hematite nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized through a surfactant mediated hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The results showed that the products were α-Fe2O3 nanoellipsoids of 115–140nm in long axis and 60–80nm in short axis. The growth mechanism of the products was proposed based on the experiments. Uniform nanospindles, nanoellipsoids, nanospheres, and nanopolyhedra with different sizes can be obtained by adjusting the reaction temperature, the amount of additive, and concentration of the reactants. The result may facilitate the exploration of controlled synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Single-crystal cuprous iodide semiconductor nanospheres were fabricated via a mild low-temperature solution route by using polyvinyl pyrrolidone as capping agent and the mixture of water and polyethylene glycol 400 as solvent. The structure, morphology, and properties of the products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermal gravimetry and photoluminescence spectrometry. The results showed that the products were CuI nanospheres of ca. 280–650nm in diameter and were composed of quasi-trigonal particles of ca. 20–40nm. The phase transformation temperature and the melting point of the products decreased by ca. 12 and 8°C compared with the bulk CuI. The possible formation mechanism was discussed on the basis of experimental results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nearly monodisperse Co3O4 nanospheres were fabricated via a facile polyethylene glycol 400-mediated solventhermal route followed by a calcination process at 500°C. The structure, morphology, and properties of the products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and UV–vis spectrometry. The results showed that the products were Co3O4 nanospheres of 160–170nm in diameter and were composed of nanoparticles of ca. 40nm. The possible formation mechanism was discussed on the basis of experimental results. Furthermore, optical property of the products was characterized. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Single-crystalline cuprous iodide semiconductor nanorods were fabricated via a facile and efficient room-temperature solution process by using polyacrylamide (PAM) as a structure-directing agent, followed by heat treatment at 180 °C. The diameter and length of the nanorods were estimated to be ca. 50 nm and ca. 1 μm, respectively. And the phase-transformation temperature and decomposition temperature of the as-prepared CuI nanorods were deduced from the DSC curve of the products, which decreased markedly compared with those of the bulk CuI material. Moreover, a possible growth mechanism of the CuI nanorods based on polymer-crystal interactions in a mild aqueous solution is proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]