Abstract
We report a facile method to prepare polymer coated cobalt oxide nanowires via the solution dipolar assembly and oxidation of ferromagnetic cobalt nanoparticles. This phenomenon is an example of utilizing the magnetic assembly of polymer coated ferromagnetic cobalt nanoparticles and the nanoscale Kirkendall effect to prepare continuous nanowires of cobalt oxide. An overview of synthetic methods, morphological imaging via electron microscopy (TEM, FE-SEM) and electrochemical characterization of nanowire thin films on indium tin oxide and platinum electrodes will be discussed. The potential of these materials for nanostructured electrodes for batteries and water-splitting will also be discussed and explored more extensively in future research.