Dispersion of Co3O4 nanoparticles within SBA-15 using alkane solvents

Spinel cobalt oxide nanoparticles have been nanocasted inside the pores of a SBA-15 silica using the "two solvents" technique, which implies that the silica is pre-wetted with an alkane solvent before loading the pores with an aqueous solution carrying the precursor, a nitrate salt, of the desired particle composition. TEM analysis of the samples, comparing the effect of four different solvents (n-pentane. n-hexane, n-heptane and cyclohexane), showed that the nanoparticles' size, shape and dispersion within the silica support differ as a function of the non-polar solvent. N-2 sorption, XRD and SAXS experiments have been carried out to confirm this phenomenon by more statistical data. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.