Cobalt oxide nanoparticles supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CoOx/CNTs) were prepared by a facile and rapid solid-state synthesis using microwave irradiation. Thermal decomposition of a cobalt precursor under microwave irradiation leads to the formation of oxides of cobalt in the nanoparticle range (mainly 10–15 nm). X-ray diffraction reveals the existence of crystalline CoO and Co₃O₄. CoOx/CNTs show superior electrochemical activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media with a near 4-electron transfer. Initial electrochemical stability tests of the CoOx/CNTs for ORR in alkaline solution under potentiostatic conditions show ~ 88% retention in performance after continuous operation for 6 h. The results on activity and stability of CoOx/CNT catalysts demonstrate that this facile and rapid synthesis might pave the way to a quick and cheap preparation of catalysts for applications in electrochemical energy conversion.

通过使用微波辐照的快速且快速的固态合成，制备了负载在多壁碳纳米管（CoOx / CNT）上的氧化钴纳米颗粒。微波辐射下钴前体的热分解导致形成纳米级（主要为10–15 nm）范围内的钴氧化物。X射线衍射揭示了晶体CoO和Co ₃ O _4的存在。CoOx / CNT在碱性介质中对氧还原反应（ORR）表现出优异的电化学活性，并具有近4电子转移的能力。在恒电位条件下，碱性溶液中的ORR的CoOx / CNT的初始电化学稳定性测试显示，连续运行6小时后，性能保留率约为88％。CoOx / CNT催化剂的活性和稳定性的结果表明，这种简便而快速的合成方法可能为快速廉价地制备用于电化学能量转化的催化剂铺平了道路。