Facile preparation of Co3O4 nanocrystals via a solvothermal process directly from common Co2O3 powder

A facile solvothermal process is successfully developed to prepare F-center cubic Co3O4 nanocrystals in alcohol–water solvent at 160 °C for 6–24 h. The common Co2O3 powder is originally directly used as precursors and alcohol performs as solvent, reducer, and modified agent in the system. The as-obtained samples are characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, SAED and VSM. The influence of reaction time is investigated. The type and concentration of alcohol are discussed. XRD and FTIR results indicate the Co3O4 nanocrystals are effectively obtained with the average size around 40–25 nm. SEM and TEM images demonstrate the nanoparticles with narrow size distraction and high dispersivity. The SAED pattern shows the products with single-crystal nanostructure. The room-temperature antiferromagnetic properties of samples are detected. The formation mechanism of crystalline Co3O4 is proposed.