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

Abstract

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.