Structural and electron microscopy analysis of sphaerocobaltite crystals

Sphaerocobaltite is a mineral of calcite group. It is an inorganic compound with the formula CoCO₃. It finds applications in, as a precursor to blue pottery glaze, it is a component of dietary supplements since cobalt is an essential element. It is also use as precursor to cobalt carbonyl and various cobalt salts and also use in delftware and as a catalyst material. Cobalt carbonate crystals (CoCO₃) was successfully obtained by hydrothermal synthesis method using cobalt salt and urea with a molar ratio of 1:5 in aqueous solution at 160°C for 5hr. in the presence of CTAB (Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide) as a surfactant and their structural property is examined by powder X-ray diffraction. The data were collected by step-scan mode in 28 range of 10-80° with step size of 0.02°. The structure refinement was carried out with Rietveld refinement method of profile analysis using the Foolproof software. The XRD shows that the single phase hexagonal (R-3c) crystal with unit cell parameters found as a = 4.661Å and c = 14.96Å. The TEM analysis suggests rod shaped morphology and ∼257.96 nm crystallite size. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis confirms the pure nature of the CoCO₃ product. Only Co, C, and O elements were detected from the product. (author)