Magnetic-field-induced synthesis and growth mechanism of ultra-long nickel microwires from nanospheres

[Display omitted] •One-dimensional Ni microwires were synthesized by two-step MFI method.•Ni particles turned from nanospheres to microwires for magnetic field.•Brownian motion and magnetic moments affected the morphology of Ni microwires.•The length increased with magnetic field, while the diameter decreased.•The magnetic field improved the spontaneous magnetization of Ni microwires. One-dimensional nickel (Ni) microwires were synthesized by the magnetic-field-induced (MFI) microemulsion-hydrothermal method using Ni nanospheres as seeds. The influence of the chemical conditions and magnetic field on the morphology and magnetic properties of Ni microwires were investigated by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The strength of magnetic field greatly affected the morphology and magnetic properties of Ni microwires. The growth and morphology of Ni microwires depended on the competition between Brownian motion and magnetic dipole moments from magnetic field. The larger nanoparticles with the higher magnetic moments preferred to form one-dimensional Ni microwires and their length increased up to several millimeters with the increasing magnetic field strength, while the average diameter of Ni microwires decreased. Furthermore, the easy magnetization direction of Ni microwires was parallel to the direction of magnetic field and the Ni microwires axis.