Co3O4
Cobalt(II,III) oxide · Cobaltosic oxide, Cobalt black
Co3O4 is a stable, metallic transition metal oxide used primarily as a high-capacity anode material in advanced electrochemical energy storage devices.
About Cobalt(II,III) oxide
Co3O4 is a prominent conversion oxide anode material characterized by its metallic electronic nature and robust thermodynamic stability. As a member of the spinel-structured oxides, it is highly valued for its ability to facilitate high-capacity electrochemical reactions through conversion mechanisms during charge and discharge cycles.
This compound is widely utilized in the development of next-generation lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. Its structural reliability and favorable electrochemical kinetics make it a subject of extensive research for improving energy density and cycle life in portable electronics and electric vehicle power sources.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Cobalt(II,III) oxide, aggregated across 7 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of Co3O4. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Co3O4, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 1.74 | 0.0000 | -1.346 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 1.47 | 0.0000 | -7.175 | 5.52 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -1.109 | — |
| — | — | 1.80 | 0.0025 | -1.343 | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0105 | -7.164 | 6.14 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0126 | -1.096 | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.01 | 0.0128 | -1.096 | — |
| Imma (No. 74) | orthorhombic | 1.35 | 0.0304 | -7.145 | 5.45 |
| I41/amd (No. 141) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0899 | -7.085 | 5.45 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.3176 | -1.028 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.3399 | -1.006 | — |
| P2 (No. 3) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 3.24 |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting Co3O4.
Applications
Where Cobalt(II,III) oxide is used.
Patent Landscape
7 patents reference Co3O4 or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12358810 | Co3O4/CuO/MgO and (Cu0.97Co0.03)O/MgO/CoO Nanocomposites and method of pechini sol-gel fabricating | — | — |
| 10581062 | Nanocubic Co3O4/few-layer graphene composites and related anode components | — | — |
| 10987659 | Synthesis of TiO2/Co3O4 core-shell photocatalysts | — | — |
| 11005109 | Electrochemical cell including cathode with main phase of perovskite oxide and second phase of Co3O4 and (Co,F | — | — |
| 10533258 | Method of making Co3O4 nanorods for electrocatalytic water splitting | — | — |
| 11465913 | Porous Co3O4 nanoparticles and method for preparing the same | — | — |
| 9074296 | Mesoporous Co3O4 nanoparticles, associated methods and applications | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cobalt(II,III) oxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Co3O4?
Co3O4 is a stable, metallic transition metal oxide used primarily as a high-capacity anode material in advanced electrochemical energy storage devices.
What is Co3O4 used for?
What is the band gap of Co3O4?
Is Co3O4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Co3O4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Co3O4?
How many polymorphs of Co3O4 are known?
How is Co3O4 synthesized?
What elements does Co3O4 contain?
Where does the data for Co3O4 come from?
How It Compares
Within the conversion oxide anodes class.
Within the family of conversion oxide anodes, Co3O4 stands out for its exceptional structural stability compared to more volatile counterparts like MnO2. While it shares a similar conversion mechanism with Fe3O4 and CuO, Co3O4 is often favored for its superior electronic conductivity, which mitigates some of the kinetic limitations typically associated with transition metal oxide electrodes.
Related Compounds
Other Conversion Oxide Anodes in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
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