Polyoxometalates nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization and carbon nanotube modification

In this paper, we described a large-scale synthesis method of the polyoxometalates (POMs) nanoparticles and the modification of carbon nanotube (CNTs) through a chemical modified approach. Four types of POMs nanoparticles were prepared by a one-step solid-state reaction at room temperature and characterized by IR, elemental analyses, XRD and TEM. These uniform nanoparticles have an average size of 8–10 nm. Furthermore, based on chemical adsorption between POMs and carboxylic acid groups, which were introduced to the CNTs by adding dilute nitric acid, POMs nanoparticles were successfully located on the CNTs as the modifier.