Synthesis and Growth Mechanism of Iron Oxide Nanowhiskers

• Published in: Nano letters 2011-03, Vol.11 (3), p.1141-1146
• Main Authors: Palchoudhury, Soubantika, An, Wei, Xu, Yaolin, Qin, Ying, Zhang, Zhongtao, Chopra, Nitin, Holler, Robert A, Turner, C. Heath, Bao, Yuping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic structure of nanoscale materials : clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals; Exact sciences and technology; Ferric Compounds - chemistry; Ligands; Low-dimensional structures (superlattices, quantum well structures, multilayers): structure, and nonelectronic properties; Materials science; Methods of nanofabrication; Molecular Structure; Nanostructures; Physics; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties)
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl200136j

Iron oxide nanowhiskers with dimensions of approximately 2 × 20 nm were successfully synthesized by selectively heating an iron oleate complex. Such nanostructures resulted from the difference in the ligand coordination microenvironments of the Fe(III) oleate complex, according to our electronic structure calculations and thermogravimetric analysis. A ligand-directed growth mechanism was subsequently proposed to rationalize the growth process. The formation of the nanowhiskers provides a unique example of shape-controlled nanostructures, offering additional insights into nanoparticle synthesis.