Restructuring of Co3O4particles from polycrystalline microspheres to single-crystalline polyhedra under the assistance of acetic acid

Abstract

A series of single-crystalline Co3O4 nanoparticles with shapes of an octahedron, a corner-truncated octahedron, a cube, a corner-truncated cube and a cuboctahedron were obtained by restructuring polycrystalline Co3O4 microspheres under the assistance of acetic acid. It was proved that the ionization equilibrium of acetic acid in the reaction system played a crucial role in the restructuring process. Besides obtaining a series of intermediate Co3O4 nanocrystals, this strategy could also show the internal relationship between these structures. This acid assisted restructuring method provides us a new route to modify the microstructure of metal oxide particles.