Highly ordered mesoporous cobalt oxide nanostructures: synthesis, characterisation, magnetic properties, and applications for electrochemical energy devices

Highly ordered mesoporous Co3O4 nanostructures were prepared using KIT-6 and SBA-15 silica as hard templates. The structures were confirmed by small angle X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm analysis. Both KIT-6 cubic and SBA-15 hexagonal mesoporous Co3O4 samples exhibited a low Néel temperature and bulk antiferromagnetic coupling due to geometric confinement of antiferromagnetic order within the nanoparticles. Mesoporous Co3O4 electrode materials have demonstrated the high lithium storage capacity of more than 1200 mAh g−1 with an excellent cycle life. They also exhibited a high specific capacitance of 370 F g−1 as electrodes in supercapacitors