Synthesis and Compactness Dependence on Flower-like Copper Germanate

Abstract

Flower-like CuGeO₃ has been obtained using a simple hydrothermal process by controlling the compactness. X-ray diffraction shows that the flower-like CuGeO₃ is composed of orthorhombic CuGeO₃ phase. Scanning electron microscopy displays that the size of each flower-like CuGeO₃ is about 3 μ which consists of the accumulation of dozens of CuGeO₃ nanorods with the diameter and length of less than 100 nm and about 1 μ, respectively. Compactness dependence results demonstrate that the compactness is the key factor for the formation of flower-like CuGeO₃. Free-standing CuGeO₃ nanowires can be obtained by improving the compactness. Hydrothermal temperature and reaction time have important roles on the size and formation of the flower-like CuGeO₃. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2011.326]