A simple detonation technique to synthesize carbon-coated cobalt

Cobalt naphthenate and cyclo-1,3,5-trimethylene-2,4,6-trinitramine (RDX) were used to synthesize carbon-coated cobalt with detonation technique. The reaction was initiated by an electric blasting caps in a vacuum explosion vessel. The detonation soot obtained from the inner wall of the vessel was characterized by XRD, TEM, Raman spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. XRD pattern indicated that well-crystallized fcc-Co, nanoparticles existed in the detonation soot and the average grain size was 30 nm. TEM images showed that the detonation soot consisted of cobalt cores and carbon shells in the form of core-shell structure. Additionally, it also revealed that the nanoparticles were well dispersed after the reaction. Raman spectra gave the information that two carbon phases existed in the products. The magnetic hysteresis curve demonstrated that the prepared nanoparticles exhibited superparamagnetism. The results of the experiment proved that detonation technique offered a simple and energy-saving way for synthesizing carbon-coated cobalt. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.