Hydrothermal synthesis of single-crystalline nanocubes of Co3O4

The single step hydrothermal synthesis of well-dispersed cobalto-cobaltic oxide (Co3O4) cubic nanocrystals has been reported. Microstructure and phase have been unambiguously characterized by XRD, TEM and Raman spectroscopy. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectrum showed that the as-prepared sample was of cubic spinel structure. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the Co3O4 nanocrystals were cubical with the crystallite size in the range of 20-30 nm. Since the particle size of the powdered samples were found to be equivalent from both TEM and X-ray diffraction technique, it can be expected that the nanocubes are single crystalline. The average BET surface area was found to be 75 m(2) g(-1) and the average pore diameter was found to be 15 nm. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.