Self-assembly of copper borate–SiO2 rods

Copper borate particles had been successfully coated with spherical SiO2 particles through a self-assembly process. The resulted Cu(BO2)2/SiO2 particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectra (IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SiO2 particles deposited onto copper borate surface. The Cu(BO2)2 particles, with an average size of 200 nm, these or four particles were aggregated with disc distribution. On effects of the silica, copper borate particles were like rod with the diameters about 100 nm and the lengths of 1000 nm. The obtained SiO2 particles had perfect spherical shape with narrow size distribution (average diameters 30 nm). SiO2 particles deposited onto copper borate surface. At present, the reaction mechanism is still under discussion.