Effect of the Concentration of Cobalt Chloride Solution for the Preparation of Nano-Sized Cobalt Oxide Powder by Spray Pyrolysis Process

Using the spray pyrolysis process, nano-sized cobalt oxide powder with average particle size below 50 nm was prepared from cobalt chloride solution. The influences of the raw material solution on the properties of the powder formed examined. When the concentration of Co was low(20 g/L), the average particle size of the powder formed was roughly 20 nm, and the cohesion between these particles was significantly strong. When the concentration of Co increased to 100 g/L, the droplets nearly failed to exist in circular form and reflected a severely divided form. Furthermore, the average size of the particles formed was roughly 40 nm, and the particles reflected a polygonal form. When the solution was increased to nearly saturation level (Co at 200 g/L), the particle size distribution reflected significant unevenness due to severe droplet division while the surface also reflected significant unevenness. Furthermore, the average size of the particles formed increased significantly to 70 nm. The results of XRD analysis showed that the strength of the peaks reflected very little change when the concentration of Co was increased from 20 g/L to 50 g/L. Alternatively, when the concentration was increased to 100 g/L, the strength of the peaks increased compared to when the concentration was 50 g/L. However, when the concentration was increased to 200 g/L, the strength of the peaks failed to reflect significant change compared to when the concentration was 100 g/L. The specific surface area dramatically decreased by 30 % when the concentration of Co was increased from 20 g/L to 50 g/L. Alternatively, when the concentration of Co the solution increased to 100 g/L, the specific surface area decreased by roughly 15 %. Furthermore, when the concentration of Co was increased to nearly saturation level(200 g/L), the specific surface area decreased by roughly 35%.