Abstract
Viability of the continuous-flow synthesis of rhomboidal copper(II) oxide (CuO) micro- and nanonoparticles was demonstrated. It has been shown that ultrasonic mixing of reactants, in the stage of Cu(OH)2 synthesis, followed by microwave irradiation of the resulting suspension, gives very fine particles of CuO at high yield and within minutes. Near optimal parameters for the synthesis of fine particles in the continuous reactor were determined.
Highlights
In the case of intensive sonication, both CuO and Cu(OH)2 were observed in the outlet stream and a partial decomposition of Cu(OH)2 was ascribed to thermal effects of sonication
The lack of sonication led to the formation of nonuniform Cu(OH)2 suspension, and of CuO particles, as well as resulted in overheating and overall instability in the second reaction, again detrimentally affecting quality of the end product. These experiments clearly showed that a successive application of ultrasonic and microwave irradiations, in the first and second step, respectively, facilitates the synthesis of smaller particles with no compromise on the quality
The presented method paves the way to the fabrication of copper oxide sub-micron particles and nanoparticles suspensions in a rapid, continuous and cost-effective way
Summary
The unique properties and most attractive application prospects of sub-micro and nanomaterials stimulate a booming interest in the development of effective synthesis procedures and drive the research for large scale and cost effective production technologies.Among many substances a significant attention attract micro- and nanoparticles of CuO, applied in fabrication of hydrogen cyanide [1], and moisture sensors [2], parts of batteries [3], carbon monoxide oxidation catalysts [4,5,6], chemical warfare decomposition [7], nanofluids for intensive heat transfer [8], fungicides and germicides [9].Copper(II) oxide can be prepared by various methods: hydrothermal or alkothermal processes [10,11], a direct thermal decomposition of copper compounds [12,13], metallic copper evaporation in oxidizing system during electric discharge [14], or by laser vaporization controlled condensation method [15]. The unique properties and most attractive application prospects of sub-micro and nanomaterials stimulate a booming interest in the development of effective synthesis procedures and drive the research for large scale and cost effective production technologies. CuO nanoparticles can be prepared quite efficiently by precipitation from. A further significant reduction in manufacturing costs can be achieved when the conventional batch technologies are replaced by continuous [21,22] or semi-continuous [23] operations. In addition to the facilitated scale-up the continuous-flow technologies ensure same quality of the product. For this reason we deemed it important to focus our studies on the production of CuO micro and nanoparticles in the continuous-flow process boosted by both ultrasonic and microwave irradiation
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