Hydrothermal synthesis and tuning of size and morphology of α-Co(OH)2 and α-Co2(OH)3Cl nanostructures as precursors for nanosized Co3O4

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the hydrothermally synthesized cobalt(II) hydroxide-based materials, which will be thermally converted to generate Co3O4 nanostructures; an important class of materials characterized by good electrochemical, catalytic and optical properties. First, cobalt(II) hydroxide nanostructures were prepared via hydrothermal hydrolysis of two different precursors (cobalt(II) chloride salt and dichlorobis(thiourea)cobalt(II) complex) exposure to an ammonia atmosphere, and then the obtained α-Co(OH)2 and α-Co2(OH)3Cl nanostructures were calcined to produce Co3O4 nanostructures that were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, UV–vis DRS and SEM techniques. The effects of the nature of the precursor, its concentration, and of the temperature and reaction time on size and morphology of the product were also investigated.