Interconnected β-Ni(OH)2 sheets and their morphology-retained transformation into mesostructured Ni

doi:10.1016/j.ssc.2006.01.033

Solid State Communications

Volume 137, Issue 11, 2006, Pages 585-588

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssc.2006.01.033 Get rights and content

Abstract

A facile route was described for the synthesis of interconnected β-Ni(OH)₂ sheets, which was realized by thermal treatment of $Ni {({NH}_{3})}_{6}^{2 +}$ solution at 95 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), infrared absorption spectrum (IR) and Raman spectrum were used to characterize the product. The complexation of ammonia and temperature played important roles for the formation of the assembled structure. Thus-prepared β-Ni(OH)₂ were morphology-retained transformed into mesostructured Ni by further reduction in H₂ current for 1.5 h.

Introduction

Morphology always greatly affected the properties and applications of materials [1]. Various fields, such as electron conduction, diagnosis, catalysis and nanodevices all press for materials with special shapes. Recently, the construction of assembled structures has become a major issue for their unique applications which could not be achieved by their discrete or bulk counterparts [2], [3], [4], [5]. In general, fabrication of assembled structure depends on the molecule interactions between the surfactants or polymers which were absorbed on the surface of subunits. For instances, smecticlike arrays of Te nanorods were driven by the van der Waals forces among the surfactant molecules on particle surfaces; spherical aggregates of monolayer polymer-protected gold nanoparticles were prepared through hydrogen-bonding interactions; assembly of magnetite nanoparticles were achieved in the presence of ternary surfactant combinations [6], [7], [8]. However, these techniques most often require special instruments, restricted experimental conditions and delicate know-how. Moreover, the aggregated structures are easy to collapse if the templates were removed, resulting in the difficulty in assembling them into nanodevices. It is still challenging to develop simple routes for the generation of assembled structures.

β-Ni(OH)₂ is an important positive electrode active material in rechargeable Ni-based alkaline batteries, and metallic nickel shows various applications in magnetic recording, catalysis, and conduction [9], [10]. Owing to that shape, properties and applications of materials are intrinsically linked, exploitations of different shaped materials have been a focus research theme. To date, a few different shapes of β-Ni(OH)₂ other than isotropic nanoparticles have been fabricated, such as nanosheets, nanorods, pancakes, microtubes [11], [12], [13], [14]. As for nickel, hollow spheres, nanobelts and nanowires, nanotubes, nanorods and hexagonal sheets all have been prepared [15], [16], [17], [18], [19]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have not been seen any reports on the synthesis of assembled structure of β-Ni(OH)₂ and Ni up to date.

Herein, we introduced a simple route for the creation of interconnected β-Ni(OH)₂ sheets by hydrothermal treating nickel ions in ammonia solution at 95 °C. In addition, by reduction of thus-prepared β-Ni(OH)₂ in H₂ current at 500 °C for 1.5 h, assembled mesostructure of metallic Ni was produced, inheriting the morphology of β-Ni(OH)₂ precursor.

Section snippets

Experimental

All the reagents were analytic purity. In a typical experiment, 0.4 mmol NiCl₂·6H₂O was dissolved into 35 ml distilled water to give a green transparent solution. Then 5 ml ammonia solution (28 wt%) was added under magnet stirring and the solution turned blue, indicating the complexation of Ni²⁺ and ammonia. The mixture was transformed into a 50 ml Teflon-lined autoclave, sealed and maintained at 95 °C for 4 h. After the heating treatment was completed, green powder was found deposited on the wall of

Results and discussion

Fig. 1(a) gave the XRD patterns of the sample 1, which was assigned to the obtained β-Ni(OH)₂. No peaks of α-Ni(OH)₂ or nickel oxides were detected, indicating pure product was generated under current experimental conditions. Compared with the standard pattern of β-Ni(OH)₂ (JCPDS 74-2705), the peak intensity of (00l) was sharply strengthened.

Morphology of the sample was studied with FE-SEM and TEM. A typical low-magnification image in Fig. 2(a) shown that as-prepared β-Ni(OH)₂ was film-like.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a new kind of assembled β-Ni(OH)₂ structure was produced through a simple hydrothermal treatment of nickel chloride using ammonia as complexing agent. The complexation of ammonia and the low temperature were found play important roles for the formation of this special morphology. By further reducing the obtained β-Ni(OH)₂ powder in H₂ atmosphere, skeleton-like Ni consisted of porous sheets were created, maintaining the shape of the precursor. Such assembled structures of β-Ni(OH)₂

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the transmission electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy facilities of Structure Research Laboratory of University of Science and Technology of China for assistance.

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Interconnected β-Ni(OH)2 sheets and their morphology-retained transformation into mesostructured Ni

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Experimental

Results and discussion

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Langmuir

J. Electroanal. Chem.

Mater. Chem. Phys.

Langmuir

Chem. Eur. J.

Science

J. Am. Chem. Soc.

Science

Nature

Eur. J. Inorg. Chem.

J. Mater. Chem.

J. Phys. Chem. B

Chem. Lett.

Interconnected β-Ni(OH)₂ sheets and their morphology-retained transformation into mesostructured Ni