Synthesis and magnetic properties of hexagonally packed ZnO nanorods

Large-scale uniform aligned ZnO nanorods with a hexagonal tip were successfully synthesized via a facile process at low temperature of (∼140 °C) without using any additives and substrate. The process is based on a simple reaction of zinc powder and de-ionized water. The results reveal that the as-prepared ZnO products have an average length of 10 μm and a diameter in the range of 50–260 nm, possessing a single crystal wurtzite structure. The structure and morphology of the ZnO products are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX). The possible formation mechanism of nanorods is proposed in brief. The optical properties of grown products were characterized by room-temperature. The magnetic property was tested with a vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature and revealed a high hysteresis loop indicating a strong ferromagnetic nature of as synthesized ZnO nanorods. The yield producing nanorods with this method includes ease, flexibility, fast being low cost and ineffective on environment free.