Acetic Acid-Assisted Solution Process for Growth of Complex Copper Sulfide Microtubes Constructed by Hexagonal Nanoflakes

Abstract

An acetic acid-assisted solution reaction at 80 °C has been developed to synthesize complex CuS microtubes with a diameter about 800 nm and length up to 16 μm, which were constructed by hexagonal copper sulfide nanoflakes. The formation process of complex microtube-like structures suggested that one-dimensional microrods of the initial precursor [Cu−(TAA)2]Cl2 complex acted as sacrificial templates for the self-aggregation and oriented growth of CuS nanoflakes on their backbones.