Nickel nanospheres, nanowires,and nanoflowers are synthesized via a facile non-aqueous sol-gel route involving reaction of nickel acetylacetonate with benzyl alcohol at 200 degrees C in the presence of varying magnetic fields, as illustrated in the figure. Benzyl alcohol acts as the solvent and reductant in this system. The nanostructures show substantial enhancement in coercivity as compared to bulk nickel.