Facile, fast, and inexpensive synthesis of monodisperse amorphous Nickel-Phosphide nanoparticles of predefined sizeElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c0cc02769c.

Monodisperse, size-controlled Ni–P nanoparticles were synthesised in a single step process using triphenyl-phosphane (TPP), oleylamine (OA), and Ni(ii)acetyl-acetonate. The nanoparticles were amorphous, contained ∼30 at% P and their size was controlled between 7–21 nm simply by varying the amount of TPP. They are catalytically active for tailored carbon nanotube growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]