Special fractal growth of dendrite copper using a hydrothermal method

Special fractal dendrite Cu nanostructures have been synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method, and the effects of the volume ratio between glycerol and water and the concentration of H₃PO₃ on the morphologies of dendrite Cu have been studied in detail. The Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to characterize these Cu products. The results indicate that rhombic diamond and different morphologies of fractal dendrite were prepared because of the accumulation of Cu nuclei based on the diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) and the nucleation-limited aggregation (NLA) model. Fortunately, symmetrical leaf-like dendrite Cu nanostructures different from Cu dendrites reported before have been obtained. Additionally, an explanation for the growth of fractal dendrite Cu has been discussed carefully.