Thermolysis characteristics of salts of o-phthalic acid with the formation of Fe, Co, Ni, Cu metal particles

Abstract

Studies of the thermolysis of ortho-[Ni(H₂O)₂(C₈H₄O₄)](H₂O)₂, [Cu(H₂O)(C₈H₄O₄)], and acid [M(H₂O)₆](C₈H₅O₄)₂ (M(II) = Fe(II), Co(II), and Ni(II)), [Cu(H₂O)₂(C₈H₅O₄)₂] phthalates reveal that the solid products of their decomposition are composites with nanoparticles embedded in carbon–polymer matrices. Metallic nanoparticles with oxide nanoparticle impurities are detected in iron/cobalt polymer composites, while nickel/copper composites are composed of only metallic particles. It is found that nickel nanoparticles with the diameters of 6–8 nm are covered with disordered graphene layers, while the copperbased composite matrix contains spherical conglomerates (50–200 nm) with numerous spherical Cu particles (5–10 nm).