In recent years, hematite (α-Fe2O3) iron oxide nanorods have attracted the attention of many researchers due to their wide applications in nanobiosensors, lithium batteries and nanomagnetism. In the present work, hematite nanorods with magnetic and optical properties were synthesized in desirable qualities via a fast and low-cost method. Features of these nanorods were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Uniform nanorods with a length of between 20 and 30 nm were fabricated in a 0.05:1:3.4 molar ratio of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/FeCl3/NaOH. The VSM technique showed that the presence of the CTAB as a surfactant agent in 0.1, 0.05 and 0.025 mol L−1 concentrations can reduce the magnetization of nanorods with an increase in surface layers. The optical absorbance properties of the hematite nanorods demonstrated that the absorption peaks are well tuned in wavelengths of about 250 and 400 nm. The hematite nanorods with the tuned structure in terms of magnetic and optical properties can be proposed as a desirable option in future applications.
