Microwave Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nano Co₃O₄ with Various Morphologies

Abstract

The precursors with various morphologies including nanowires, nanosheets, and hexagonal nanoplatelets were synthesized under different conditions by the microwave hydrothermal method. The precursors are transformed into Co₃O₄ with various nanostructures through thermal decomposition. It is very important to synthesize the precursors controlling the microwave hydrothermal conditions, such as the mineralizer, the reaction temperature, and the reaction time. The microwave assisted hydrothermal approach presented here opens a potential avenue to explore the synthesis of various other metal oxides with different nanomorphologies.

Keywords:

• Co₃O₄
• morphology
• nanostructrure
• microwave hydrothermal synthesis

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Foundation for Excellent Middle-aged or Young Scientists from Shandong Province under Grant No.BS2009CL029 and the Australian Research Council through a Discovery Project (project ID: DP0878611).