Synthesis of cobalt oxide nanocrystal self-assembled materials

©1999 Materials Research Society. The original publication is available at: http://www.mrs.org/DOI: 10.1557/JMR.1999.0072Self-assembling of size-, shape-, and phase-selected nanocrystals into superlattices is a new approach for synthesizing a new generation of advanced materials with functionality. In this paper, high purity and monodispersive tetrahedral nanocrystals of CoO, with edge-lengths of 4.4 ± 0.2 nm, have been synthesized and separated from Co nanocrystals using colloidal chemistry and magnetic separation. The tetrahedral CoO nanocrystals behave like a molecular matter, and their assembling forms superlattices with translational symmetry. The phase transformation of the CoO nanocrystals is examined by ex situ annealing in oxygen, and the results showed the formation of Co₃O₄ with spinel structure