Postsynthetic processing of copper hydroxide-silica tubes†
Abstract
Using reaction conditions far from equilibrium, we produce hollow tubes of silica-supported Cu(OH)2. The samples are then processed postsynthetically without compromising the macroscopic tubular structure. We specifically induce an amorphous–crystalline transition and demonstrate the sequential conversion of Cu(OH)2 to CuO, Cu2O, and metallic copper using thermal treatment and wet chemistry.