In the present work, a facile one-step hydrothermal synthesis of well-defined stabilized CuO nanopetals and its surface study by advanced nanocharacterization techniques for enhanced optical and catalytic properties has been investigated. Characterization by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed existence of high crystalline CuO nanopetals with average length and diameter of 1611.96 nm and 650.50 nm, respectively. The nanopetals are monodispersed with a large surface area, controlled morphology, and demonstrate the nanocrystalline nature with a monoclinic structure. The phase purity of the as-synthesized sample was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. A significantly wide absorption up to 800 nm and increased band gap were observed in CuO nanopetals. The valance band (VB) and conduction band (CB) positions at CuO surface are measured to be of +0.7 and -1.03 eV, respectively, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which would be very promising for efficient catalytic properties. Furthermore, the obtained CuO nanopetals in the presence of hydrogen peroxide ( H 2 O 2 ) achieved excellent catalytic activities for degradation of methylene blue (MB) under dark, with degradation rate > 99% after 90 min, which is significantly higher than reported in the literature. The enhanced catalytic activity was referred to the controlled morphology of monodispersed CuO nanopetals, co-operative role of H 2 O 2 and energy band structure. This work contributes to a new approach for extensive application opportunities in environmental improvement.
In this work, advanced nanoscale surface characterization of CuO Nanoflowers synthesized by controlled hydrothermal approach for significant enhancement of catalytic properties has been investigated. The CuO nanoflower samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), high-angular annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) with elemental mapping, energy dispersive spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) and UV-Vis spectroscopy techniques. The nanoscale analysis of the surface study of monodispersed individual CuO nanoflower confirmed the fine crystalline shaped morphology composed of ultrathin leaves, monoclinic structure and purified phase. The result of HR-TEM shows that the length of one ultrathin leaf of copper oxide nanoflower is about ~650-700 nm, base is about ~300.77 ± 30 nm and the average thickness of the tip of individual ultrathin leaf of copper oxide nanoflower is about ~10 ± 2 nm. Enhanced absorption of visible light ~850 nm and larger value of band gap energy (1.68 eV) have further supported that the as-grown material (CuO nanoflowers) is an active and well-designed surface morphology at the nanoscale level. Furthermore, significant enhancement of catalytic properties of copper oxide nanoflowers in the presence of H2O2 for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) with efficiency ~96.7% after 170 min was obtained. The results showed that the superb catalytic performance of well-fabricated CuO nanoflowers can open a new way for substantial applications of dye removal from wastewater and environment fields.