A Mechanistic Study on the Structure Formation of NiCo2O4 Nanofibers Decorated with In Situ Formed Graphene-Like Structures

Sachin Kumar, Visweswara C. Gudla, Rajan Ambat, Sreeram K. Kalpathy, S. Anandhan*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    Nickel cobaltite (NCO) nanofibers were synthesized using poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) as the polymeric binder through sol–gel assisted electrospinning. Defect-free precursor nanofiber mats were pyrolyzed at 773 K at three different pyrolysis soaking times t = 2, 4, and 6 h. The SAN present in the precursor nanofibers caused morphological changes in the NCO nanofibers during their thermochemical degradation. Consequently, fractal aggregates of NCO nanoparticles were formed along the length of the nanofibers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed both + 2 and + 3 oxidation states for Ni and Co, with spinel crystal defects due to oxygen rich atmosphere. XPS, high-resolution transmission microscopy, and optical analysis showed graphene-like structures embedded within the NCO nanofibers. With increase in pyrolysis soaking time, the morphology of the NCO particles markedly changed from spherical to rod-like. We propose a mechanism for the morphological change of NCO nanoparticles on the basis of crystallite splitting accompanied by particle splitting and reordering.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalJournal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers
    Volume28
    Issue number5
    Pages (from-to)1885-1900
    ISSN1053-0495
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2018

    Keywords

    • Crystal splitting theory
    • Electrospinning
    • Inverse spinel
    • Kirkendall effect

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'A Mechanistic Study on the Structure Formation of NiCo2O4 Nanofibers Decorated with In Situ Formed Graphene-Like Structures'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this