Microemulsion-mediated synthesis of cobalt (pure fcc and hexagonal phases) and cobalt-nickel alloy nanoparticles

Ahmed, Jahangeer and Sharma, Shudhanshu and Ramanujachary, Kandalam V and Lofland, Samuel E and Ganguli, Ashok K (2009) Microemulsion-mediated synthesis of cobalt (pure fcc and hexagonal phases) and cobalt-nickel alloy nanoparticles. In: Journal of Applied Physics, 336 (2). pp. 814-819.

PDF m213.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (610kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

By choosing appropriate microemulsion systems, hexagonal cobalt (Co) and cobalt-nickel (1:1) alloy nanoparticles have been obtained with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a cationic surfactant at 500 degrees C. This method thus stabilizes the hcp cobalt even at sizes (<10 nm) at which normally fcc cobalt is predicted to be stable. On annealing the hcp cobalt nanoparticles in H-2 at 700 degrees C we could transform them to fcc cobalt nanoparticles. Microscopy studies show the formation of spherical nanoparticles of hexagonal and cubic forms of cobalt and Co-Ni (1:1) alloy nanoparticles with the average size of 4, 8 and 20 nm, respectively. Electrochemical studies show that the catalytic property towards oxygen evolution is dependent on the applied voltage. At low voltage (less than 0.65 V) the Co (hexagonal) nanoparticles are superior to the alloy (Co-Ni) nanoparticles while above this voltage the alloy nanoparticles are more efficient catalysts. The nanoparticles of cobalt (hcp and fcc) and alloy (Co-Ni) nanoparticles show ferromagnetism. The saturation magnetization of Co-Ni nanoparticles is reduced compared to the bulk possibly due to surface oxidation.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Applied Physics
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to
Keywords:	Microemulsion; Nanoparticles; Electrocatalyst; Magnetism
Department/Centre:	Division of Chemical Sciences > Solid State & Structural Chemistry Unit
Date Deposited:	15 Dec 2009 08:45
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:38
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/21650

Actions (login required)

View Item