Direct and ultrafast preparation of Cu3(PO4)2 nanoflower by ultrasonic spray method without protein assistant and its applications: Large-scale simulation and catalytic reduction

As the layered flower-like materials, Cu3(PO4)2-based nanoflowers have multi-tiered sheet structure and unique properties, which play an important role in sensing, drug delivery and especially catalysis. This kind of nanoflowers are usually fabricated in presence of proteins, but the addition of proteins would usually bring about kinetic limitations and thermodynamic barriers. In this work, a novel ultrasonic spray method has been explored to directly and rapidly synthesize copper phosphate inorganic nanoflowers without the protein assistant. Remarkably, our Cu3(PO4)2 nanoflowers can be prepared in a few seconds instead of in a few days with regular shape and uniform size, also avoiding harsh conditions and complex reactants, thus overcoming the traditional kinetic limitations and thermodynamic barriers. Meanwhile, different types of copper salts can be employed to successfully prepare Cu3(PO4)2 nanoflowers with the same structure, and this method is also applicable for rapidly preparing BSA-Cu3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers, whose morphology could be adjusted by the doping amount of BSA. In addition, large-scale industrialization of this method was simulated by using a large humidifier to prepare this nanoflowers. Furthermore, the Cu3(PO4)2 nanoflowers can effectively catalyze the reduction of p-nitrophenol with the corresponding rate constant (k) of 0.106 s−1, the turnover frequency (TOF) of 1091.6 h−1 and the conversion rate of 94.6%. This work provides a new approach for the efficient and facile preparation of nanoparticles and a theoretical basis for the formation mechanism of nanoflowers, also develop the potential application in catalysis, and lays a foundation in large-scale industrial production.