A simple hydrothermal method was used to synthesize crystalline sodium hexamobate nanorods of high purity in gram quantity by treating Nb2O5 powder in 10M NaOH at 150 degrees C without utilizing template molecules. The molecular composition of such material was identified as Na6HNb6O19.2H(2)O. SEM revealed that the majority of these hexamobate rods had a diameter distribution of 200-450nm and a length distribution of 40-60 mu m, though finer rods with a diameter of 50-100 nm could also be found in the product mixture. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.