Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis of MnOOH Nanorods and Their Application

Abstract Single crystal manganese oxyhydroxide (MnOOH) nanorods were prepared under the condition of no extra template or surfactant by a simple hydrothermal route using potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 ) as Mn source, water and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) as mixed solvent. By adjusting the reaction temperature, reaction time and the volume ratio of H 2 O/NMP, MnOOH nanorods with lengths up to 20 μm and square cross-sections of edge lengths in the range of 50∼400 nm were be facilely prepared. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The formation mechanism of MnOOH nanorods was preliminarily discussed based on the Ostwald's ripening process. Furthermore, Mn 2 O 3 nanorods were obtained by calcination of MnOOH nanorods. Results show that the morphologies of MnOOH nanorods and Mn 2 O 3 nanorods are almost the same.