MICROWAVE IRRADIATION ASSISTED GROWTH OF Cu , Ni , Co METALS AND/OR OXIDES NANOCLUSTERS AND THEIR CATALYTIC PERFORMANCE

Copper, nickel and cobalt metals and oxides needle-like shape nanoclusters have been synthesized successfully by chemical reduction in solution without using a surfactant. XRD analyses showed that copper and nickel metals could be synthesized in a short time period by a microwave irradiation (MWI) — assisted step wise reduction of metal ions in basic solution using hydrazine as a reducing agent whereas cobalt was mainly precipitated in the form of either hydroxide or oxide. TEM images showed that the size of needle-like shape nanoclusters varying from about 5 nm to few hundred nanometers length. On the other hand, copper and cobalt showed high catalytic activity toward CO oxidation than that of nickel. The mechanism of catalytic oxidation reactions over unsupported metals and oxides are also discussed.