Surfactant-assisted solvothermal synthesis of Co3O4 hollow spheres with oriented-aggregation nanostructures and tunable particle size

The surface-assisted solvothermal decomposition of Co3O 4 hollow nanospheres, which present oriented-aggregation nanostructures, were described. The particle sizes of the prepared hollow spheres was changed by means of the different treatments to the raw material suspensions before the solvothermal reactions took place. The transformation of cobalt-hydroxide-nitrate to Co3O4 hollow nanospheres occured during the solvothermal process, while the oriented-aggregation structure in the shell was kept. The electrochemical properties of the 70 nm hollow spheres were examined and a high cycling stability was found to be present.