In situ growth of hollow Cu₂O spheres using anionic vesicles as soft templates

Geometrically optimizing anionic vesicles were fabricated using two types of anionic surfactants with antipodal molecular configuration. The influence of counterions on the anionic vesicles was systematically investigated to maintain electrostatic interaction between the anionic vesicles and the precursors, as well as to ensure the structural integrity of the vesicle templates. The transcription from vesicles to hollow Cu₂O spheres was achieved through an in situ reduction approach. The obtained hollow Cu₂O spheres were assembled by abundant nanoparticles around the vesicle interface and showed preferable adsorption capacity for methyl orange in the dark compared with the solid Cu₂O spheres synthesized without any surfactants.