Facile synthesis and characterization of Co3O4 nanoplates coated with small nanorods

Abstract

Co3O4 nanoplates coated with small nanorods have been synthesized with the assistance of microwave technique from Co metal source followed with calcination at 650 °C. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope have been used to investigate the samples’ structure. The average crystallite size of Co3O4 is 52.6 nm. SEM of Co3O4 shows the nanoplate structure coated with highly dense nanorods. The diffused reflectance has been analyzed by the Kubelka-Munk model. Co3O4 has three energy gaps (1.2, 1.5 and 2.3 eV). Frequency dependence of the AC conductivity shows the semiconducting behavior which is illustrated as correlated barrier hopping between alternation pairs with intimate valence. This study shows that the microwave assisted technique is a facile and promising tool to produce high-quality nanostructured Co3O4 to be used in different applications.