Spontaneous self-organization of Cu2O/CuO core-shell nanowires from copper nanoparticles.

We report on the formation and spontaneous self-organization of Cu(2)O/CuO core-shell nanowires from individual copper nanoparticles. The growth process is interpreted using the results of time-dependent in situ x-ray diffraction. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy is used to observe the intermediate state of pearl-necklace-like aggregates that form a chain-like configuration of Cu(2)O nanoparticles intertwined into nanowires. The existence of an amorphous CuO shell is confirmed by the XANES technique and explained through an intensity simulation using a proposed core-shell nanowire model.