aDepartment of Systems Engineering & Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
bDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, 30 Jangjeon-Dong, Kumjeong-Gu, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Spinel cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowires grown on Ni foam are successfully synthesized using a novel microwave-assisted template-free method. The effect of reaction temperature, concentration of reactants, and reaction time on the morphology and crystalline structures of the prepared nanowires is studied. The present work has demonstrated that uniform Co3O4 nanowires with diameters of 500–580 nm and lengths of 6–8 μm can be synthesized under proper reaction condition. Moreover, the proposed microwave-assisted template-free method can significantly reduce reaction time, increase reaction efficiency, and provide better control over the geometry of the nanostructures.
