Facile synthesis of monodispersed copper oxalate flaky particles in the presence of EDTA

Monodispersed copper oxalate particles with flaky morphology were prepared via a simple one-pot synthesis method. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were used to characterize particle morphology, size, phase composition, and functional groups. It was found that the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and the solution pH value had strong influence on the morphological and size evolution of the precipitated particles. On the basis of controlled release of copper ions from a Cu²⁺–EDTA complex and Weimarn’s law, a strategy for the controlled synthesis of monodispersed copper oxalate particles was designed by referring to the basic mode of the Stöber method. The inherent nature of crystallization to form the flaky solid in the early stage of precipitation as well as the driving force of the long-lasting low supersaturation in the growth stage was proposed to explain the size and morphological evolution of the copper oxalate precipitates. Thermodynamic equilibrium concentrations of copper(II) species in the Cu(II)–EDTA–oxalate–H₂O solution system were calculated to help explain the possible formation mechanism of copper oxalate precipitates.