Shape controlled synthesis of Cu2O and its catalytic application to synthesize amorphous carbon nanofibers

Octahedral Cu{sub 2}O particles and Cu{sub 2}O nanowires were synthesized by a simple solution-phase route using N{sub 2}H{sub 4}.H{sub 2}O as reducing agent at room temperature. Amorphous carbon nanofibers were synthesized using octahedral Cu{sub 2}O particles and an acetylene gas source at atmospheric pressure. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. SEM and TEM images indicated that most of the obtained octahedral Cu{sub 2}O particles had an edge length of 400-700 nm. The obtained nanowires had uniform diameters of about 15 nm, and the length of the nanowires ranged from 5 to 10 {mu}m. The XRD result revealed the amorphous feature of the nanofibers. IR spectrum revealed that the nanofibers consist of -CH, -CH{sub 2,} -C=C- and -CH{sub 3} groups. The concentrations of N{sub 2}H{sub 4}.H{sub 2}O and NaOH played important roles in controlling the geometric shape of the Cu{sub 2}O.