Synthesis of cobalt nanowires in aqueous solution under an external magnetic field.

In contrast to the majority of related experiments, which are carried out in organic solvents at high temperatures and pressures, cobalt nanowires were synthesized by chemical reduction in aqueous solution with the assistance of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as surfactant under moderate conditions for the first time, while an external magnetic field of 40 mT was applied. Uniform linear cobalt nanowires with relatively smooth surfaces and firm structure were obtained and possessed an average diameter of about 100 nm with a coating layer of PVP. By comparison, the external magnetic field and PVP were proven to have a crucial influence on the morphology and the size of the synthesized cobalt nanowires. The prepared cobalt nanowires are crystalline and mainly consist of cobalt as well as a small amount of platinum. Magnetic measurements showed that the resultant cobalt nanowires were ferromagnetic at room temperature. The saturation magnetization (M s) and the coercivity (H c) were 112.00 emu/g and 352.87 Oe, respectively.