Sonochemical preparation of nickel alumina nanotubes templated by anionic surfactant assemblies

Nickel alumina nanotubes templated by dodecylsulfate assemblies have been successfully synthesized for the first time using a sonochemical process. These nanotubes were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), a transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD). The formation mechanism of these nanotubes is also discussed. They were also calcined to study the change of the nanostructure morphology with the temperature. It was found that the nanotubes transformed from short nanotubes into dendritic structures of aggregations of nanoparticles into monodisperse nanoparticles, and these nanostructures hold high specific surface area.