Nanoparticles of Co3O4 were successfully synthesized by solid state thermal decomposition of the cobalt(II) macrocyclic Schiff base complexes [CoL1] (1) and [CoL2] (2) as novel precursor at 450 oC for 3 hrs without employing toxic solvent or surfactant and complicated equipment. The products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the Co3O4 products are pure and single phase and have plate-like. The optical spectra of the Co3O4 products indicated two direct band gaps at about 1.4 and 2.5 eV.
Keywords: Nanoparticles, Cobalt(II) macrocyclic Schiff base, Thermal decomposition, XRD, SEM, TEM.