A novel non-template solution approach to fabricate ZnO hollow spheres with a coordination polymer as a reactantElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: X-ray photoelectron spectra and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis of the products. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/nj/b3/b304787c/

Abstract

The methods of coordination chemistry are extended to fabricate hollow spheres of inorganic materials. In particular, in the present work a novel approach is successfully put forward to synthesize ZnO submicrometer hollow spheres, in which the coordination polymer [Zn(4,4′-bipy)(NCS)₂]_n with a 1D chain structure is introduced as a reactant. In this approach, no additional template materials are needed to obtain submicrometer hollow-sphere structures in the reaction process. A possible mechanism is also proposed.