Synthesis and characterization of copper-based aerogels

Copper-based aerogels were prepared by sol-gel method using inorganic salt as precursor and propylene oxide as gelation agent. The morphology of the copper-based aerogels was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), which suggests that the aerogels have a structure of 3-D networks and the skeleton is composed of CuO particles. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) results indicate that, the calcination of the aerogels at higher temperatures induces a phase change which results in the formation of copper oxide aerogels. The N2 adsorption/desorption result shows that the copper-based aerogels have a high specific surface area of about 386 m2/g.