Controlled synthesis of LaPO(4) and CePO(4) nanorods/nanowires.

LaPO(4) and CePO(4) nanorods/nanowires with controlled aspect ratios have been successfully synthesized using a hydrothermal microemulsion method under mild conditions. It has been shown that the obtained LaPO(4) has a monoclinic structure, while CePO(4) exists in the hexagonal structure. Uniform nanorods/nanowires with diameters of 20-60 nm and lengths ranging from several hundreds of nanometres to several micrometres were obtained. The aspect ratios of the obtained 1D nanostructures can be fine-tuned by simply changing the [H(2)O ]/[surfactant] molar ratios. The possible growth mechanism of LaPO(4) and CePO(4) nanorods/nanowires was explored in detail.