Controlled Synthesis of Cuprous Oxide Nanorings by Pulsed Laser Ablation of Copper Metal in Aqueous Media of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

In the present paper controlled synthesis of cuprous oxide nanorings by pulsed laser ablation of copper metal in aqueous medium of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is studied. The ablation of copper metal was performed in aqueous solution of 0.1, 1, 10, 20 and 50 mM SDS using focused first harmonic (1064 nm) of nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at 40 mJ/pulse energy. The obtained colloidal solutions of nanostructures were characterized with UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. Nanostructures form in 1 mM SDS have ring like structure while in 0.1 mM SDS elongated rod like structures is found. The nanorings have hexagonal, circular and oval shaped geometries, out of which circular shaped are least populated. The outer diameter of the nanorings is found to be in the range of 25-35 nm with 6-10 nm inner shell thickness. The mechanism of nanorings formation is also discussed.