Large scale and fast synthesis of multiferroic TbMn2O5 single-crystalline nanorods

• Pure TbMn2O5 phase was synthesized in a wide temperature range for a short time.
• Smooth and uniform single-crystalline nanorods were obtained.
• The element Mn in TbMn2O5 exhibits a mix Mn3+/4+ valence state with an average value of 3.5+, and the element Tb exhibits Tb3+.

Crystalline multiferroic TbMn2O5 nanorods were successfully synthesized by a facile and scalable molten salt synthesis with NaCl–Na2SO4 eutectic salts used in the temperature range of 750–900 °C for only 2 h. The obtained TbMn2O5 could be indexed to an orthorhombic phase by the results of XRD patterns. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), combined with high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and EDS, have been employed to investigate the morphology, size, crystallinity, structure, and composition of the as-synthesized TbMn2O5 nanorods. The TbMn2O5 product exhibits smooth, uniform and crystalline nanorods with diameters of 30–70 nm, and length of varying from 3 to 6 μm. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicate that the elements Mn and Tb in TbMn2O5 exhibit Mn3+/4+ and Tb3+, respectively. The magnetic properties of the as-prepared TbMn2O5 nanorods have been also characterized by physical properties measurement system (PPMS).

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