Self-Assembly of Metal Oxides into Three-Dimensional Nanostructures: Synthesis and Application in Catalysis

Nanostructured metal (Fe, Co, Mn, Cr, Mo) oxides were fabricated under microwave irradiation conditions in pure water without using any reducing or capping reagent. The metal oxides self-assembled into octahedra, spheres, triangular rods, pine, and hexagonal snowflake-like three-dimensional morphologies. Pine-structured nano-iron oxides were studied as a novel support for various catalytic organic transformations.