Convenient synthesis of single crystalline magnetic Fe3O4 nanorods

The synthesis of the uniform single crystalline magnetic Fe3O4 nanorods in a solution-phase approach in the presence of polyethylene glycol-1000(PEG-1000) is described. This is a convenient solution-phase route to large-scale synthesis of Fe3O4 nanorods with average diameters of ca. 80 nm and lengths of up to 2 μm. The composition of the nanorods is appraised by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Transmission electron microscopy images show that the magnetite particles are homogenous and have the shape of rods. The mechanism of forming Fe3O4 nanorods is also discussed.