Synthesis and Tunable Assembly of Spear-like Nickel Nanocrystallites: From Urchin-like Particles to Prickly Chains

Urchin-like nickel particles and prickly nickel chains were selectively prepared by a facile low-temperature chemical reduction method at ambient conditions. The synthetic process involved the chemical reduction of nickel ions and the oriented growth of nickel nanocrystals under kinetic control independent of surfactants or external magnetic field. The branch length and the overall morphologies of the products could be tailored by properly tuning the process conditions and the component of the reaction solution. The magnetic properties of the products were studied as well and the results demonstrated that the products present ferromagnetic properties related to the corresponding microstructure. On the basis of a series of contrast experiments, the probable growth mechanism and fabrication process of the products were proposed. This work provided a facile and effective strategy to fabricate self-assembled nickel hierarchical structures with tunable morphologies.