Cobalt nanoparticles: an overview on fundamental preparations to transformative applications

Nanoparticles research is an intense scientific interest on account of their board range of applications in optical, biomedical, and electronic fields. Being the first catalyst produced from non-precious metal, cobalt possesses properties like platinum. Cobalt nanoparticles (CoNPS) show a greater attention due to their unique magnetic, electrical, catalytic and biomedical properties. Future applications as catalyst, information storage system, and separation technology, generate the needs for the synthesis of crystal structured CoNPs with desired size and shape, as well as uniformity in composition. There is always a keen searching for environmentally friendly and reliable methods to synthesis CoNPs in the effort of reducing or even removing the use of noxious chemicals. To this line, this review discuss the synthesis strategies for CoNPs, including, chemical, physical, biological approaches and the influencing parameters with crystallinity, size of the particle, morphology, and surface chemistry. Besides, the major applications of CoNPs as catalyst, biosensors, antimicrobial activity, electronic are addressed with future directions and sustainable developments.