Investigation of the structure and composition of film sol-gel-derived Co[O.sub.x]-Si[O.sub.2] systems

Samples of Si-Co-O ranging in composition from 15 to 90% of cobalt content have been synthesized by the sol-gel technology. The results of atomic force microscopy have demonstrated that the preliminary centrifugation of the solutions makes it possible to control the size of the nanospheres obtained in the stage of sol formation. For diagnostics of the phase composition of the film and bulk materials, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction analysis have been used. The results of X-ray powder diffraction analysis and Raman spectroscopy have revealed that the nanospheres belong to the [Co.sub.3][O.sub.4] spinel phase. It has been found that there is a correlation between the positions of the Raman band maxima and the nanosphere size. DOI:10.1134/S1063783414020176