Magnetic Response of Hydrothermally Prepared Self-Assembled Co3O4 Nano-platelets

Abstract

In the present communication, we report a strong ferrimagnetic behavior of self-assembled Co3O4 nano-platelets, which most likely originates from the intrinsic spin structure of the unique Co3O4 structure. The microsphere-like structures are composed of nano-platelets that are entangled together to form the organized network. These anomalous ferrimagnetic properties can be rationalized by supposing that one of the Co3+ and one of the Co2+ ions are switched between the octahedral and tetrahedral sites. The powder sample was also characterized by x-ray diffraction and superconducting quantum interface device magnetometry.