Large scale and fast synthesis of multiferroic TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} single-crystalline nanorods
Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Pure TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} phase was synthesized in a wide temperature range for a short time. • Smooth and uniform single-crystalline nanorods were obtained. • The element Mn in TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} exhibits a mix Mn{sup 3+/4+} valence state with an average value of 3.5+, and the element Tb exhibits Tb{sup 3+}. - Abstract: Crystalline multiferroic TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanorods were successfully synthesized by a facile and scalable molten salt synthesis with NaCl–Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} eutectic salts used in the temperature range of 750–900 °C for only 2 h. The obtained TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} could be indexed to an orthorhombic phase by the results of XRD patterns. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), combined with high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and EDS, have been employed to investigate the morphology, size, crystallinity, structure, and composition of the as-synthesized TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanorods. The TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} product exhibits smooth, uniform and crystalline nanorods with diameters of 30–70 nm, and length of varying from 3 to 6 μm. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicate that the elements Mn and Tb in TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} exhibit Mn{sup 3+/4+} and Tb{sup 3+}, respectively. The magnetic properties of the as-prepared TbMn{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanorods have been also characterized by physical properties measurement system (PPMS)