Synthesis and Characterization of 3D Nanoporous Copper Oxide Materials by Dealloying and Thermal Oxidation of Amorphous Ribbons

A nanoporous copper oxide materials synthesized by dealloying and thermal oxidation of amorphous CuZrAl ribbons, representing the novelty of this research, previously obtained by a melt-spinning process, was carried out in an aqueous HF solution by varying the holding time. These NPC structures are used as a template to achieve a 3D-NP-CuO material with different surface morphology. To investigate the structural and morphological properties of the obtained sandwich-type material, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) were used. In summary, the dealloying and thermal oxidation of amorphous ribbons is an interesting approach to achieve 3D networks of NP-CuO with different morphologies and with a low production cost. These sandwich-type structures consisting of NPC and copper oxide nanowires (CuO/Cu₂O), combines the good electrical properties of NPC with the catalytic properties of copper oxide semiconductors making it a suitable material for photocatalysis, photoelectrodes in solar cells, battery applications and electrochemical sensors.