Chainlike nickel wires were prepared in a large scale through a simple one-pot method using triethanolamine (TEA) as a complex agent. These wires, length up to several millimeters, were consisted of linked spherical nickel particles with a diameter of 200-400 nm. TEA as a multidentate ligand played an important role for the formation of such chainlike structures of nickel. The resultant nickel wires showed a much-enhanced coercivity than bulk nickel. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.