In this study, cobalt nanopowder is fabricated by sonochemical polyol synthesis and magnetic separation method. First, sonochemical polyol synthesis is carried out at 220oC for up to 120 minutes in diethylene glycol (C4H10O3). As a result, when sonochemical polyol synthesis is performed for 50 minutes, most of the cobalt precursor (Co(OH)2) is reduced to spherical cobalt nanopowder of approximately 100 nm. In particular, aggregation and growth of cobalt particles are effectively suppressed as compared to common polyol synthesis. Furthermore, in order to obtain finer cobalt nanopowder, magnetic separation method using magnetic property of cobalt is introduced at an early reduction stage of sonochemical polyol synthesis when cobalt and cobalt precursor coexist. Finally, spherical cobalt nanopowder having an average particle size of 22 nm is successfully separated.

Nano particles have recently been a major research interest, motivated by their unusual physical and chemical properties. Such particles can be synthesized using physical and chemical methods. The physical methods need expensive installation like vacuum induction furnace, whereas in chemical methods the process in generally very simple and low cost. In this study, simple and new fabrication process by using ultrasound was investigated to prepare the nano-sized metal particles on various powders at room temperature.