Hollow oxide formation by oxidation of Al and Cu nanoparticles

The formation of hollow metal oxide nanoparticles through the oxidation process at low temperatures from 295 to 423 K has been studied by transmission electron microscopy for Cu, Al, and Pb. For Cu and Al, hollow oxide nanoparticles are obtained as a result of vacancy aggregation in the oxidation processes, resulting from the rapid outward diffusion of metal ions through the oxide layer during the oxidation process. On the other hand, Pb nanoparticles turn to solid PbO because the diffusivity difference D-Pb < D-O in PbO does not lend itself to the formation of vacancy clusters. The oxide growth behavior of Cu and Al nanoparticles of a larger size at 423 K are summarized as follows: (i) for Al, the rapidly forming oxide layer on its surface stops growing once it reaches a critical thickness of about 1.5 nm, (ii) the growth of Cu2O continues until hollow Cu2O of a certain thickness is formed. This suggests the occurrence of two different diffusion processes in the formation of hollow oxides: the rapid outward diffusion of metal ions based on the Cabrera-Mott theory plays an important role in the formation of hollow Al-oxides, whereas the Kirkendall effect at the Cu/Cu2O interface, where Cu diffuses much faster than oxygen, brings about the formation of hollow Cu2O. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.