Preparation of honeycomb-like NiO with nanogrooves by using electrospun nanofibrous webs as templates

Honeycomb-like NiO with nanogrooves was prepared by impregnating electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibrous webs with nickel acetate solution and subsequent calcination. The products showed honeycomb-like structures with a pore size ranging 0.6-3.0 μm and contained many semicircular nanogrooves of 100-200 nm in width. The honeycomb-like pores originated from the interspaces between the nanofibers in the original web templates and the nanogrooves were formed by bursting of the PAN nanofibers during calcination. Electron energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns testified that the obtained materials were NiO with high purity.