Supercritical Fluid Facilitated Growth of Copper and Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

Though the diversity of applications involving supercritical fluids (SCFs) continue to mount in virtually every sector of the scientific workplace, this environmentally-friendly medium is only briefly mentioned in undergraduate curricula; most often without hands-on laboratory experience. A new experimental module featuring this technology was introduced into an undergraduate inorganic chemistry laboratory. Nanoparticles of copper and aluminum oxide were formed using a variety of novel procedures, with scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) utilized for characterization. While particles of aluminum oxide were found to average 100 nm with sufficient aggregation, the copper nanoparticles were much smaller in diameter, with less agglomeration. A discussion of overall student sentiment and pedagogical outcomes from this module is also provided.