Synthesis–structure correlations of manganese–cobalt mixed metal oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Mixed metal oxides in the nanoscale are of great interest for many aspects of energy related research topics as water splitting, fuel cells and battery technology. The development of scalable, cost-efficient and robust synthetic routes toward well-defined solid state structures is a major objective in this field. While monometallic oxides have been studied in much detail, reliable synthetic recipes targeting specific crystal structures of mixed metal oxide nanoparticles are largely missing. Yet, in order to meet the requirements for a broad range of technical implementation it is necessary to tailor the properties of mixed metal oxides to the particular purpose. Here, we present a study on the impact of the nature of the gas environment on the resulting crystal structure during a post-synthesis thermal heat treatment of manganese–cobalt oxide nanoparticles. We monitor the evolution of the crystal phase structure as the gas atmosphere is altered from pure nitrogen to synthetic air and pure oxygen. The particle size and homogeneity of the resulting nanoparticles increase with oxygen content, while the crystal structure gradually changes from rocksalt-like to pure spinel. We find the composition of the particles to be independent of the gas atmosphere. The manganese–cobalt oxide nanoparticles exhibited promising electrocatalytic activity regarding oxygen evolution in alkaline electrolyte. These findings offer new synthesis pathways for the direct preparation of versatile utilizable mixed metal oxides.