Controllable fabrication of monodisperse Co-B hollow microspheres

Monodisperse cobalt-boron (Co-B) hollow microspheres were fabricated by a facile and controllable method. In this method, cobalt hydroxide (Co(OH)₂) colloids were used as templates, then electroless cobalt plating was carried out on the surface of Co(OH)₂ colloids, finally Co-B hollow microspheres were obtained by adding complexing agent to dissolve the core. The products were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and BET, and the results showed that the as-prepared Co-B hollow microspheres have good monodispersity, spherical shape and large BET surface area. The method proposed can be extended to obtain other metal or alloyed hollow microsperes.