The preparation of zinc ferrite nanorods by using single ferrocenyl complex as precursor

Zinc ferrite nanorods were prepared by the decomposition of ferrocenyl complex [Zn(fca)(2)] 1 (Hfca, ferroceneylacetone) as single source precursor. In this work, we presented a new and simple route to synthesize nanostructured ferrites by decomposition of ferrocene-based complexes without the assistance of catalysts or template, and successfully obtained zinc ferrite nanorods with perfect morphology. The synthesis of ZnFe2O4 nanorods was carried out via decomposition of zinc ferrocenyl complexes at the presence of sodium hypochlorite under hydrothermal condition without the attendance of catalysts or templates. The results show that ferrocenyl complexes play an important role in the control synthesis of good morphology ferrites. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the synthesis of nanostructured zinc ferrites based on one-step hydrothermal decomposition of zinc ferrocenyl complexes. This exploration provides a useful method to seek new nanomaterials with perfect morphology in the shape-controlled synthesis of complicated inorganic composition oxides. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.