Synthesis and optical properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes beaded with Cu2O nanospheres

A method for synthesizing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) beaded with Cu2O nanospheres has been developed. In this work Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O served as the precursor and NaBH4 as the reducing agent, and the produced Cu2O nanoparticles were deposited on the MWNTs with the help of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP). After increasing the ageing time, grapelike Cu2O nanospheres adhering to the MWNTs gradually came into being. The synthesized products were systematically studied by x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. UV-vis absorption spectra were used to estimate the band gap energies of the hybrid system. The synthesis process was facile, efficient and not time-consuming. This method may shed light on integrating MWNTs with other oxide nanospheres and/or nanoparticles using a PVP medium, and lead to an exploration of the potential properties of nanocomposite hybrid materials