Preparation of CuAl₂O₄ submicron tubes from electrospun Al₂O₃ fibers

In this study, CuAl₂O₄ submicron tubes were synthesized by using electrospun Al₂O₃ nanofibers as a template. The electrospun Al₂O₃ precursor fibers were heat treated to form Al₂O₃ nanofibers. The Al₂O₃ nanofibers were used as the template, and the CuO layer was deposited on the Al₂O₃ nanofibers were dropped with copper nitrate methooxyethanol solution. The CuAl₂O₄ phase was formed by annealing. The CuAl₂O₄ was obtained by etching out the residues of the Al₂O₃ core and CuO shell. The CuAl₂O₄ submicron tubes with an average diameter of about 200 nm were obtained. The structure of the CuAl₂O₄ submicron tubes was characterized by X-ray diffraction studies, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry.