Hierarchical assembly of CuO nano-dandelions on 3-D printed template

We report a two-phase chemical synthesis of various copper (Cu) nanostructures throughout complex 3-dimensional (3-D) printed substrates. We present dandelion-like CuO nano-rods grown on a 3-D model. 1 mm x 1 mm x 10 mm bars are cross-stacked to form a cubic log-pile structure. Ni thin-film was electrolessly deposited, and subsequently Cu layer was electroplated on the 3-D log-pile structure. In order to grow nanostructures, the Cu layer was reacted with an alkali solution (NH₄OH). The surface morphology and chemistry were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).