Fabrication of octahedral Atacamite microcrystals via a hydrothermal route

Octahedral Atacamite (Cu₂Cl(OH)₃) microcrystals have been successfully fabricated via a convenient hydrothermal route in the absence of any external inorganic additives or organic structure-directing agents. Powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra are used to characterise various properties of the obtained Atacamite microcrystals. It is found that the morphologies of Atacamite microcrystals strongly depend on the hydrothermal conditions, in which urea plays an important role during the whole process. This work has provided a simple and effective method to synthesise Atacamite in aqueous solution, which may also be applicable to the preparation of other copper-based compounds.