Preparation of ultrafine silica nanowires using an iron based surfactant

Silica nanowires have been shown to have exceptional mechanical properties. However, to date, their preparation with diameters less than 20 nm by an easily implemented colloidal method has been problematic. In this work, we show how a novel iron based surfactant readily forms rodlike micelle structures which may be used to template the formation of silica nanowires with diameters less than 5 nm.