Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of alkaline-earth metal phenylphosphonate nanostructures

A simple hydrothermal method has been designed for the synthesis of the nanorods of alkaline-earth metal phenylphosphonates Mg(O3PPh)center dot H2O and M(HO3PPh)(2) (M = Ca or Sr) in the presence of surfactants cetyltrimethylammonium bromide or sodium dodecyl sulfate at pH 6.0. Rod-shaped nanocrystals, nanocubes, and hexagonal nanocrystals of the Ba(HO3PPh)(2) have also been prepared separately. The possible growth mechanisms of these nanocrystals were elucidated in detail. Mesoporous nanorods of Ca2P2O7 possessing a large surface area and high thermal stability were obtained by removing the organic part of Ca(HO3PPh)(2) nanorods at 700 degrees C. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, electron diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area were used to characterize these materials.