Synthesis of uniform-sized bimetallic iron–nickel phosphide nanorods

We synthesized uniform-sized nanorods of iron–nickel phosphides from the thermal decomposition of metal–phosphine complexes. Uniform-sized (FexNi1−x)2P nanorods (0⩽x⩽1) of various compositions were synthesized by thermal decomposition of Ni–trioctylphosphine (TOP) complex and Fe–TOP complex. By measuring magnetic properties, we found that blocking temperature and coercive field depend on Ni content in the nanorods. Both parameters were more sensitive to doping compared with bulk samples.