Cu2(OH)3Cl microspheres with self-assembled nanostructures through a dissolution regulation reaction and exhibits excellent antibacterial activity

Basic copper chloride (Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl) microspheres with different surface nanostructure were synthesized via the dissolution regulation of calcite in CuCl 2 solution. We studied the influence of CuCl 2 concentration, reaction time and reaction temperature on the formation of Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl, and the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy . The concentration of CuCl 2 has a great influence on the dissolution rate of calcite, dispersed microsphere particles assembled by nano-blocks formed in 20 mM CuCl 2 solution. The surface of Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl microsphere change from nano-block to nano-rod with increasing the reaction time from 20 min to 2 h Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl microspheres with surface structure changed from nano-sheet, nano-plate to nano-block with the reaction temperature increase from 37 °C to 70 °C. The Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl microsphere also displays superior antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli . This work displays a new strategy to synthesize functional materials by the use of dissolution regulation methods.