Synthesis and magnetic properties of single-crystals of MnFe2O4 nanorods

Single-crystals of MnFe2O4 nanorods with an average diameter of 20 nm and length of 250 nm were synthesized by a hydrothermal process at 180 degreesC after 12 h. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and electron diffraction (ED) analysis revealed that the nanorods grow along the [110] axis, which is one of the easy magnetization axes of the material MnFe2O4. It was found that the nanorods exhibited a saturation magnetization (Ms) of 68.02 emu/g, which is much higher than that of quasi-spherical particles of MnFe2O4, prepared by other approaches such as solid-state reaction methods (Ms = 36.7 emu/g), and coprecipitation processes followed by annealing in vacuo at 400 degreesC (Ms = 24.4 emu/g). The oriented growth along the easy magnetization axis of MnFe2O4 was suggested to be responsible for the improvement of magnetic properties of MnFe2O4 nanorods. (C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004.