Surfactant-assisted hydrothermal synthesis and electrochemical properties of nanoplate-assembled 3D flower-like Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O microstructures

Micrometer-scale hierarchical flower-like structures of Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O assembled by nanoplates were, for the first time, fabricated in a high yield via a simple hydrothermal process in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). X-Ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the samples. The results demonstrated that CTAB played an important role as a soft template in the formation of the 3D Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O architecture. The formation mechanism was preliminarily studied based on XRD studies and SEM observations by arresting the growth at a series of intermediate stages in the formation of the flower-like structures. Some factors influencing the morphologies of the Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O flower-like micro/nanocomposite structures were systematically investigated. The electrochemical measurements revealed that the Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O microflowers displayed a high discharge capacity.