A Simple Scalable Production Route for Monodispersed Metal/Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

The first-row transition metals and their oxides have garnered immense interest from academic as well as technological perspectives. Transition metals and their oxide are of particular interest because these elements support multiple oxidation states. As a result, the physiochemical properties of the transition metals are quite different from the main group element. They have found applications in diverse fields, such as supercapacitors, sensors, solar cells, catalysts and photocatalytic applications. In this work, the synthesis of transition metals (M = Co, Ni, Mn) and their oxides following a simple one-pot thermal decomposition route has been explored. Changing reaction parameters allows for the preparation of nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes. The preparative scheme can be adapted for the large-scale synthesis of monodispersed transition metal/metal oxide nanoparticles, making the procedure attractive for possible industrial applications for these materials.