Synthesis of copper(ii) coordination polymers and conversion into CuO nanostructures with good photocatalytic, antibacterial and lithium ion battery performances

Abstract

Two different nanostructured copper–isonicotinic acid (INA) coordination polymers, Cu(C₆H₄NO₂)₂(H₂O)₄ and [Cu(C₆H₄NO₂)(OH)]H₂O have been successfully synthesized under hydrothermal conditions on a large scale without the assistance of surfactants or template. Cu(C₆H₄NO₂)₂(H₂O)₄ has the morphology of 2-dimensional (2D) butterfly-like nanosheet structures, while [Cu(C₆H₄NO₂)(OH)]H₂O consists of one-dimensional (1D) nanorods. A possible formation mechanism of the obtained coordination polymer nanostructures is proposed with provision of the crystal structure. After heat treatment, hierarchical CuO butterfly-sheet-like nanostructures and CuO nanotubes were obtained. The photocatalytic and antibacterial studies indicate that the as-obtained CuO samples have great photocatalytic activities for the degradation of Rhodamine B and good bacteriostatic activities. In addition, the electrochemical measurements show that CuO samples exhibit high reversible discharge capacities and stable cyclic performances.