Cu2(OH)3Cl microspheres with self-assembled nanostructures through a dissolution regulation reaction and exhibits excellent antibacterial activity

Basic copper chloride (Cu2(OH)3Cl) microspheres with different surface nanostructure were synthesized via the dissolution regulation of calcite in CuCl2 solution. We studied the influence of CuCl2 concentration, reaction time and reaction temperature on the formation of Cu2(OH)3Cl, and the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The concentration of CuCl2 has a great influence on the dissolution rate of calcite, dispersed microsphere particles assembled by nano-blocks formed in 20 mM CuCl2 solution. The surface of Cu2(OH)3Cl microsphere change from nano-block to nano-rod with increasing the reaction time from 20 min to 2 h Cu2(OH)3Cl microspheres with surface structure changed from nano-sheet, nano-plate to nano-block with the reaction temperature increase from 37 °C to 70 °C. The Cu2(OH)3Cl microsphere also displays superior antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli. This work displays a new strategy to synthesize functional materials by the use of dissolution regulation methods.