Prof. Dr. Axel Müller

Tellurium (Te) nanorods have been successfully aligned on a solid substrate via a “magnetization-alignment-demagnetization” (“MAD”) process in the presence of an external magnetic field. Te nanorods carrying a poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) shell were first converted into magnetic nanocylinders by assembling magnetite nanoparticles on their surface via a hydrophobic interaction in THF. We demonstrate that below a critical concentration of the nanoparticles, this assembly process is able to quantitatively tune the magnetite nanoparticles´ density on the nanorods in terms of their stoichiometric ratio. Due to the polymer and surfactant on their surface, the formed magnetic nanocylinders are soluble in THF, and aligned when dried on a solid substrate in the presence of an external magnetic field. The demagnetization of the pre-aligned nanocylinders was achieved via an acid-etching process, leaving Te nanorods in an aligned state. This “MAD” process can be extended as a general procedure for other non-magnetic 1-D nanostructures. Additionally, the non-etched magnetic nanocylinders can be potentially applied in field of magnetorheology.