Self-catalyzed growth of magnesium oxide nanorods

MgO nanorods with spherical particles at the tips were fabricated through direct reaction of Mg and oxygen. The nanorods have diameters ranging from 20 to 50 nm and their lengths are up to 10 μm. The diameters of the spherical particles are about 3–4 times larger than that of the nanorods. X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence results prove that the nanorods are composed of face-centered cubic (fcc) MgO. The transmission electron microscopy observations show that the nanorods are single crystalline. The growth direction of the nanorod is along [111]. A self-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid growth model is adopted to account for the formation of the MgO nanorods.