Basic deep eutectic solvents as reactant, template and solvents for ultra-fast preparation of transition metal oxide nanomaterials

Developing a new type of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) is indispensable for expanding their application in various fields. Here, we report a series of new highly basic DESs. FT-IR, quantitative 1H NMR, MD simulation and physical properties show that these basic liquids are made up of hydroxide acceptor of alkali metal hydroxides in which the hydrogen bonding interactions coordinate the donor. These DESs can be played three roles as new solvents, template and reactant for facile and ultra-fast preparation of transition metal oxide nanomaterials such as NiCo2O4, MnCo2O4, NiMn2O4, CoCu2O4 and Co3O4 under mild condition. This work shows one of the low energy-intensive methods for nanomaterial preparation. These initial findings of basic deep eutectic solvents provide a potential applicability around the systematic development of transition metal oxide nanosheets.