Bulk metal-derived metal oxide nanoparticles on oxidized carbon surface

Nano-sized metal oxides have gained widespread interest because of their multifarious applications in catalysis, energy storage, semiconductors, and nanomedicine. Though many viable solution-based techniques for the preparation of nanoparticles (NPs) have been reported, meeting efficiency and scalability requirements remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate the generalized and facile method to yield metal oxide NPs that exploit bulk metal particulates. Based on a galvanic reaction, the interface between bulk metal powder and oxidized carbonaceous material transforms metals in to oxide/hydroxide NPs on the carbonaceous surface, owing to the resulting potential difference. This preparation procedure uses a solution-based synthesis technique, which is relatively straightforward, eco-friendly, scalable, inexpensive, and can be easily executed for a variety of metals; for instance, we demonstrated this approach for Zn, Ni, Co, Sn and Cu.