Three-dimensional morphology control during wet chemical synthesis of porous chromium oxide spheres.
Controlling the morphological evolution in nanostructures is essential for improving their functionality, for example, in catalysis. Here, we demonstrate, using chromium oxide as a model system, that morphologies of functional binary oxide particles can be tailored by an efficient template-free synthetic approach. We construct a morphological "phase diagram" for chromium oxide spheres that shows the evolution of size and surface roughness as a function of the precursor and urea concentrations. It is notable that these chromium oxide spheres show an exceptional ability to remove azo-dye pollutant in water treatment. Thus, the porous chromium oxide spheres with very good dye absorptions are expected to be useful in alternative absorption technologies.
Chen
Lifang
L
Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA.
Song
Zhi
Z
Wang
Xue
X
Prikhodko
Sergey V
SV
Hu
Juncheng
J
Kodambaka
Suneel
S
Richards
Ryan
R
D002857:Chromium / Q000737:chemistry; D017608:Chromium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000379:methods; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D014508:Urea / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation
D017608:Chromium Compounds; D004396:Coloring Agents; D010087:Oxides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002857:Chromium; D014508:Urea; C023600:chromic oxide