LaCoO3 nanosystems by a hybrid CVD/sol-gel approach

LaCoO3 nanosystems are receiving increasing attention for the development of innovative fuel cells and heterogeneous catalysts. In this report, we describe the synthesis of nanophasic LaCoO3 thin films by a hybrid chemical vapor deposition (CVD)/sol–gel (SG) approach. The adopted strategy consists in the CVD of La-O-based systems on SG cobalt oxide xerogels CoOx(OH)y at temper- atures as low as 200 °C and in the subsequent thermal treatment in air (400–800 °C, 2–8 h). In this context, particular attention is devoted to achieving an intimate La/Co intermixing already in the as-prepared systems, in order to favor reactions yielding a single La-Co-O phase with uniform composition. The obtained results point out to the formation of pure and structurally homogeneous LaCoO3 nanosystems after annealing at 700 °C, 2 h, with a typical grainlike morphology. More severe thermal treatment resulted in the thermal decomposition of LaCoO3 nanocrystallites.