Solution-phase synthesis of nickel phosphide single-crystalline nanowires

We report on the synthesis of single-crystalline Ni2P nanowires via a solution-phase approach using nickel (II) acetylacetonate as a metal precursor and trioctylphosphine as a phosphorus source. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the crystalline structure, morphology and composition of the as-synthesized nanowires. The results show that the as-synthesized nanowires have a uniform width of ca. 6 nm, and a length that can vary from tens of nanometers to several hundred nanometers. These nanowires possess a hexagonal crystalline phase, and predominantly grow along the c-axis. The formation of one-dimensional nanostructures has a close relationship with the concentration of metal precursor and surfactants, and the synthetic methodologies.