Highly ordered snowflakelike metallic cobalt microcrystals

A facile hydrothermal reduction route based on a precipitate slow-release controlled process was developed to fabricate highly ordered snowflakelike metallic cobalt microcrystals under mild conditions. In this synthetic system, soluble hydrated cobalt nitrate was employed to supply a Co source, sodium hydroxide was used as a precipitator, and aqueous hydrazine was used as a reducing agent. The shape, structure, and magnetic properties of the final products were investigated by XRD, SEM, EDS, and a SQUID magnetometer. The probable formation mechanism of the snowflakelike microcrystals was discussed on the basis of the experimental results. The highly ordered snowflakelike microcrystals might have potential applications in microdevices and magnetic cells.