We investigate the formation of chains of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) in a rotating magnetic field, combining two well-explored chain-forming systems: larger micron-scale beads in a rotating magnetic field, and SPIONs in a static field. This simple combination is interesting because it features self-assembly that occurs both far from equilibrium and at a finite temperature, with the better-explored systems constituting respectively its zero temperature and near-equilibrium limits. Theories applicable to either of the two limits qualitatively predict the chain length distributions, except that chains in our experiments are shorter, which we attribute to the simultaneous presence of thermal fluctuations and fluid shear forces that work in concert to break chains apart. Our most striking result is that the disorder in the SPION chains gradually dissipates over a timescale of tens of minutes, about two orders of magnitude slower than the characteristic chain assembly time. The disorder dissipation can be sped up by increasing particle concentration and solution ionic strength, both of which increase the speed of chain assembly. This strongly suggests that the improvement in chain order with time is not due to thermal fluctuations but rather to energy imparted by the self-assembly process, which continually causes chains to grow and break apart, even when a steady state distribution has obtained. More generally, our results indicate that self-assembly away from equilibrium may sometimes lead to better ordered assemblies than under near-equilibrium conditions.
We report the temperature and field dependence of dc magnetization on sol-gel prepared nanoparticles of Ni(OH)_2. At higher temperature the system is found to behave as a paramagnet while we find evidence for superparamagnetic blocking at low temperature. The system shows a paramagnet-superparamagnet transition and we discuss the underlying mechanism.
Magnetic single-domain nanoparticles constitute an important model system in magnetism. In particular ensembles of superparamagnetic nanoparticles can exhibit a rich variety of different behaviors depending on the inter-particle interactions. Starting from isolated single-domain ferro- or ferrimagnetic nanoparticles the magnetization behavior of both non-interacting and interacting particle-ensembles is reviewed. A particular focus is drawn onto the relaxation time of the system. In case of interacting nanoparticles the usual Neel-Brown relaxation law becomes modified. With increasing interact…
To study the magnetic dynamics of superparamagnetic nanoparticles we use scanning probe relaxometry and dephasing of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, characterizing the spin-noise of a single 10-nm magnetite particle. Additionally, we show the anisotropy of the NV sensitivity's dependence on the applied decoherence measurement method. By comparing the change in relaxation (T 1 ) and dephasing (T 2 ) time in the NV center when scanning a nanoparticle over it, we are able to extract the nanoparticle's diameter and distance from the NV center using an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model for the …
We report detailed studies on magnetic properties of Co3O4 nanoparticles of average size 12.5 nm. Temperature and field dependence of magnetization, wait time dependence of magnetic relaxation (aging), memory effects and temperature dependence of specific heat have been investigated to understand the magnetic behavior of these particles. We find that the particles show some features characteristic of nanoparticle magnetism such as bifurcation of field cooled (FC) and zero field cooled (ZFC) susceptibilities and a slow relaxation of magnetization. However, strangely, the temperature at which ZF…
The stochastic Landau-Lifshitz equation is used to investigate the relaxation process and equilibrium magnetization of interacting assembly of superparamagnetic nanoparticles uniformly distributed in a nonmagnetic matrix. For weakly interacting assembly the equilibrium magnetization is shown to deviate significantly from the Langevin law in the range of moderate and large magnetic fields due to the influence of magnetic anisotropy energy. For dense assemblies with noticeable influence of the magneto-dipole interaction a significant dependence of the initial susceptibility on the assembly densi…
We use a Monte Carlo approach to simulate the influence of the dipolar interaction on assemblies of monodisperse superparamagnetic $γ-Fe_{2}O_{3}$ nanoparticles. We have identified a critical concentration c*, that marks the transition between two different regimes in the evolution of the blocking temperature ($T_{B}$) with interparticle interactions. At low concentrations (c < c*) magnetic particles behave as an ideal non-interacting system with a constant $T_{B}$. At concentrations c > c* the dipolar energy enhances the anisotropic energy barrier and $T_{B}$ increases with increasing c, so t…
The magnetic properties of Fe$_3$O$_4$ nanoparticle assemblies have been investigated in detail through a combination of vibrating sample magnetometry and muon spin relaxation ($μ$SR) techniques. Two samples with average particle sizes of 5 nm and 20 nm, respectively, were studied. For both samples, the magnetometry and $μ$SR results exhibit clear signatures of the superparmagnetic state at high temperature and the magnetically blocked state at low temperature. The $μ$SR data demonstrate that the transition from the superparamagnetic to the blocked state occurs gradually throughout the sample …
The scope of this article is to report very detailed results of the measurements of magnetic relaxation phenomena in the new Cu$_{0.5}$Fe$_{2.5}$O$_{4}$ nanoparticles and known CuFe$_{2}$O$_{4}$ nanoparticles. The size of synthesized particles is (6.5$\pm $1.5)nm. Both samples show the superparamagnetic behaviour, with the well-defined phenomena of blocking of magnetic moment. This includes the splitting of zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetic moment curves, dynamical hysteresis, slow quasi-logarithmic relaxation of magnetic moment below blocking temperature. The scaling of the magnetic…
When decreasing the size of nanoscale magnetic particles their magnetization becomes vulnerable to thermal fluctuations as approaching the superparamgnetic limit, hindering thus applications relying on a stable magnetization. Here, we show theoretically that a magnetoelectric coupling to a ferroelectric substrate renders possible the realization of substantially smaller nano clusters with thermally stable magnetization. For an estimate of cluster size we perform calculations with realistic material parameters for iron nano particles on ferroelectric BaTiO3 substrate. We find, steering the pola…
Despite extensive researches on manganites owing to widespread use in modern electronics, this class of metal oxides does not cease to surprise with its unique properties and new phenomena. Here we have studied structural and magnetic properties of non-Heisenberg manganite nanoparticles with a strong spin-electron coupling. During transition from low temperature ferromagnetic to high temperature paramagnetic state, the change in charge, valence and spin (magnetic moment) with the localization of eg-electrons on the manganese ions have been detected. With decrease in a temperature, the overstat…
The internal energy of magnetic anisotropy for some nanoparticles dominates over the thermal energy even at room temperature. Strong magnetic anisotropy of nanoparticles can significantly affect the process of magnetization of the magnetic fluid. This influence is substantial if the system of nanoparticles is in a state of mechanical anisotropy in which the anisotropy axes of the particles have the same direction. In this work, it is shown that the magnetization curve of the magnetic fluid in a state of mechanical anisotropy is significantly different from that of Langevin. It is located betwe…
Thermomagnetic measurements are used to obtain the size distribution and anisotropy of magnetic nanoparticles. An analytical transformation method is described which utilizes temperature-dependent zero-field cooling (ZFC) magnetization data to provide a quantitative measurement of the average diameter and relative abundance of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. Applying this method to self-assembled MnAs nanoparticles in MnAs-GaAs composite films reveals a log-normal size distribution and reduced anisotropy for nanoparticles compared to bulk materials. This analytical technique holds promise for…
Detailed calculations of the specific absorption rate (SAR) of a dilute assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles with effective uniaxial anisotropy dispersed in a liquid are performed depending on the particle diameters, the alternating (ac) magnetic field amplitude and the liquid viscosity. For small and moderate ac magnetic field amplitudes H0 with respect to particle anisotropy field Hk the SAR of the assembly as a function of the particle diameter passes through a characteristic maximum and then reaches a plateau, whereas for sufficiently large amplitudes, H0 ~ Hk, the SAR increases monotonica…
We have synthesized the bulk form of the superparamagnetic nanocomposites of Fe nanoparticles and activated carbon. Here highly porous feature of activated carbon and magnetic properties of Fe nanoparticles were combined together to form the nanocomposites by mechanical mixing of different proportion of both of them. These nanocomposites are characterized by various characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magnetization measurement and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The observed XRD patterns have shown most intense peaks at 2θ = 44.8 degree, wh…
Magnetic vortices existing in soft magnetic nanoparticles with sizes larger than the single-domain diameter can be efficient nano-heaters in biomedical applications. Using micromagnetic numerical simulation we prove that in the optimal range of particle diameters the magnetization reversal of the vortices in spherical iron and magnetite nanoparticles is possible for moderate amplitudes of external alternating magnetic field. In contrast to the case of superparamagnetic nanoparticles, for the vortex configuration the hysteresis loop area increases as a function of frequency. So that high values…
In order to better understand the origin of multiple quantum transitions observed in superparamagnetic nanoparticles, electron magnetic resonance (EMR) studies have been performed on iron oxide nanoparticles assembled inside the anodic alumina membrane. The positions of both the main resonance and "forbidden" (double-quantum, 2Q) transitions observed at the half-field demonstrate the characteristic angular dependence with the line shifts proportional to 3cos2q-1, where q is the angle between the channel axis and external magnetic field B. This result can be attributed to the interparticle dipo…
In present study we exploited Langmuir technique to produce self-assembled arrays composed of monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles 10 nm and 20 nm in diameter and of their binary mixture. A combination of in-situ X-ray reflectometry and Grazing-incident small-Angle X-ray scattering was used to obtain in-plane and out-of-plane structure of the arrays directly on the water surface. Surface pressure isotherms and X-ray reflectometry analysis showed that monodisperse 10 nm nanoparticles form a highly ordered monolayer, while 20 nm particles pack in three-dimensional clusters with a short-range (n…
The unique physical and optical properties of nanoparticles make their reliable and rapid assembly an important goal for nanotechnology. To this end, many competing driving forces have been targeted to control the self-assembly, though issues with reliability and efficiency indicate that interfaces on the nanoscale are not yet fully understood. In this letter we report for the first time that the flow of water media from the interface between chemically nanopatterned hydrophobic surfaces and adjacent hydrophilic regions (a Janus interface) can effectively be employed for rapid nanoparticle ass…
We report studies on temperature, field and time dependence of magnetization on cupric oxide nanoparticles of sizes 9 nm, 13 nm and 16 nm. The nanoparticles show unusual features in comparison to other antiferromagnetic nanoparticle systems. The field cooled (FC) and zero field cooled (ZFC) magnetization curves bifurcate well above the Néel temperature and the usual peak in the ZFC magnetization curve is absent. The system does not show any memory effects which is in sharp contrast to the usual behavior shown by other antiferromagnetic nanoparticles. It turns out that the non-equilibrium behav…
We report studies on temperature, field and time dependence of magnetization on cupric oxide nanoparticles of sizes 9 nm, 13 nm and 16 nm. The nanoparticles show unusual features in comparison to other antiferromagnetic nanoparticle systems. The field cooled (FC) and zero field cooled (ZFC) magnetization curves bifurcate well above the Neel temperature and the usual peak in the ZFC magnetization curve is absent. The system does not show any memory effects which is in sharp contrast to the usual behavior shown by other antiferromagnetic nanoparticles. It turns out that the nature of CuO nanopar…
The complex permittivity and permeability of superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles has been quantified using a circular waveguide assembly with a static magnetic field to align the nanoparticle's magnetization. The high sensitivity of the measurement provides the precise resonant feature of nanoparticles. The complex permeability in the vicinity of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) is in agreement with the nanoparticle's measured magnetization via conventional magnetometry. A rigorous and self-consistent measure of complex permittivities and permeabilities of nanoparticles is crucial to ascer…
Superparamagnetic nanoparticles containing hundreds and thousands of coupled electron spins are on the boundary between classical and quantum behavior, and demonstrate features which are typical for paramagnetic spins and absent in macroscopic ferromagnetic systems. In order to better understand the evolution of magnetization dynamics from quantum to classical behavior with the increase in the system size, we study the electron magnetic resonance signal in suspensions of iron oxide nanoparticles as the function of the particle size. The experimental data are compared with numerical simulations…
We show that by capping Co nanoparticles with small amounts of Pt strong changes of the magnetic properties can be induced. The Co nanoparticles have a mean diameter of 2.7 nm. From magnetometry measurements we find that for zero and for small amounts of Pt (nominal thickness t(Pt) < 0.7 nm) the nanoparticles behave superparamagnetic like. With increasing t(Pt) the blocking temperature is enhanced from 16 up to 108 K. Capping with Pd yields comparable results. However, for values t(Pt) > 1 nm a strongly coupled state is encountered resembling a ferromagnet with a T_c approx. 400 K
Magnetic nanoparticles are important building blocks for future technologies ranging from nano-medicine to spintronics. Many related applications require nanoparticles with tailored magnetic properties. However, despite significant efforts undertaken towards this goal, a broad and poorly-understood dispersion of magnetic properties is reported, even within mono-disperse samples of the canonical ferromagnetic 3d transition metals. We address this issue by investigating the magnetism of a large number of size- and shape-selected, individual nanoparticles of Fe, Co, and Ni using a unique set of c…
Techniques to reliably pick and place single nanoparticles into functional assemblies are required to incorporate exotic nanoparticles into standard electronic circuits. In this paper we explore the use of electric fields to drive and direct the assembly process, which has the advantage of being able to control the nano-assembly process at the single nanoparticle level. To achieve this, we design an electrostatic gating system, thus enabling a voltage controllable nanoparticle picking technique. Using the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation, we can successfully characterise the parameters req…
Highly sophisticated synthesis methods and experimental techniques allow for precise measurements of magnetic properties of nanoparticles that can be reliably reproduced using theoretical models. Here, we investigate the magnetic properties of ferrite nanoparticles by using theoretical techniques based on Monte Carlo methods. We introduce three stages of sophistication in the macromagnetic model. First, by using tailor-made hamiltonians we study single nanoparticles. In a second stage, the internal structure of the nanoparticle is taken into consideration by defining an internal (core) and ext…
We report on self-assembled iron oxide nanoparticle films on silicon substrates. In addition to homogeneously assembled layers, we fabricated patterned trenches of 40-1000 nm width using electron beam lithography for the investigation of assisted self-assembly. The nanoparticles with a diameter of 20 nm +/- 7% were synthesized by thermal decomposition of iron oleate complexes in trioctylamine in presence of oleic acid. Samples with different track widths and nanoparticle concentration were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and by superconducting quantum interference device magnetom…
Single-molecule surface enhanced Raman scattering (SM-SERS) is one of the vital applications of plasmonic nanoparticles. The SM-SERS sensitivity critically depends on plasmonic hot-spots created at the vicinity of such nanoparticles. In conventional fluid-phase SM-SERS experiments, plasmonic hot-spots are facilitated by chemical aggregation of nanoparticles. Such aggregation is usually irreversible, and hence, nanoparticles cannot be re-dispersed in the fluid for further use. Here, we show how to combine SM-SERS with plasmon-polariton assisted, reversible assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles at…
A specific absorption rate of a dilute assembly of various random clusters of iron oxide nanoparticles in alternating magnetic field has been calculated using Landau- Lifshitz stochastic equation. This approach simultaneously takes into account both the presence of thermal fluctuations of the nanoparticle magnetic moments, and magneto-dipole interaction between the nanoparticles of the clusters. It is shown that for usual 3D clusters the intensity of magneto- dipole interaction is determined mainly by the cluster packing density eta = Np*V/Vcl, where Np is the average number of the particles i…
The magnetic-field-induced assembly of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) provides a unique and flexible strategy in the design and the fabrication of functional nanostructures and devices. We have investigated the field-driven self-assembly of core-shell magnetite NPs dispersed in toluene by means of in situ small angle neutron scattering (SANS). The form factor of the core-shell NPs was characterized and analyzed using SANS with polarized neutrons. Large-scale aggregation of magnetite NPs has formed above 0.02 T as indicated by very-small angle neutron scattering measurements. Three-dimensional lo…
Functionalization of photocatalytic metal oxide nanoparticles of TiO2, ZnO, WO3 and CuO with amine-terminated (oleylamine) and thiol-terminated (1-dodecanethiol) alkyl chained ligands was studied under ambient conditions. A high selectivity was observed in the binding specificity of a ligand towards nanoparticles of these different oxides. It was observed that oleylamine binds stably to only TiO2 and WO3, while 1-dodecanethiol binds stably only to ZnO and CuO. Similarly, polar to non-polar solvent phase transfer of TiO2 and WO3 nanoparticles could be achieved by using oleylamine, but not by 1-…
We theoretically investigate equilibrium behaviors and photothermal effects of a flexible plasmonic metamaterial composed of aramid nanofibers and gold nanoparticles. The fiber matrix is considered as an external field to reconfigure a nanoparticle assembly. We find that the heating process tunes particle-particle and fiber-particle interactions, which alter adsorption of nanoparticles on fiber surfaces or clustering in pore spaces. Thus, it is possible to control the nanoparticle self-assembly by laser illumination. Gold nanoparticles strongly absorb radiations and efficiently dissipate absor…
Spherical nanoclusters and nanoparticles are rising materials whose functional design provides many useful applications ranging from catalysis, molecular sensing, gas storage to drug targeting and delivery. Here, we develop phenomenological crystallization theory of such spherical structures with octahedral symmetries O and O_h. Within the developed theory, we propose a method, which is based on constructing irreducible octahedral density functions and allows to predict the positions of structural units in the spherical nanoobjects. The proposed theory explains the structures of the simplest k…
The elements of the magneto-dipole (MD) interaction matrix are calculated for a pair of oriented spheroidal magnetic nanoparticles with a semiaxes ratio a/b = 1.25, 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 as a function of the distance between the particle centers. It is shown that the spherical approximation for MD interaction matrix is incorrect already at aspect ratios a/b > 1.25, if the distance R between the particle centers is of the order of particle sizes. However, for moderate particle aspect ratios, a/b < 1.5, the first order correction to spherical approximation with respect to a corresponding small parame…
We report magnetic studies on gelatin coated NiO nanoparticles of average size 7 nm. Temperature and time dependence of dc magnetization, wait time dependence of magnetic relaxation (aging), memory effects in the dc magnetization and frequency dependence of ac susceptibility have been investigated. We observe that the magnetic behavior of coated NiO nanoparticles differs substantially from that of bare nanoparticles. The magnetic moment of the particles is highly enhanced and the ZFC magnetization data displays a sharp peak (Tp1 = 15 K) at a low temperature in addition to a usual high temperat…
Realizing a large-scale fully controllable quantum system is a challenging task in current physical research and has broad applications. Ultracold atom and molecule arrays in optical tweezers in vacuum have been used for quantum simulation, quantum metrology and quantum computing. Recently, quantum ground state cooling of the center-of-mass motion of a single optically levitated nanoparticle in vacuum was demonstrated, providing unprecedented opportunities for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics and precision measurements. In this work, we create a reconfigurable optically-levitated nanopar…
The ability to create micro/nano patterns of organic self-assembled monolayers on semiconductor surfaces is crucial for fundamental studies and applications in a number of emerging fields in nanoscience. Here, we demonstrate the patterning of thiol molecular SAMs on oxide-free GaAs surface by dip-pen nanolithography and micro-contact printing, facilitated by a process of surface etching and passivation of the GaAs. A quantitative analysis on the molecular diffusion on GaAs was conducted by examining the writing of nanoscale dot and line patterns by DPN, which agrees well with surface diffusion…
Bimetallic Co/Au (core/shell) nanoparticle system exhibiting transition form superparamagnetic (SPM) to superspin glass state (SSG) at low temperatures has been investigated with respect to its magnetocaloric properties. Peaks of magnetic entropy change vs. temperature dependences ($ΔS_M(T)$) have been observed at a temperature in the vicinity of SPM to SSG transition. Despite of significant thermal hysteresis of magnetization at low applied fields a master curve has been constructed from the $ΔS_M(T)$ dependences employing scaling analysis. That confirms the investigated transition is of the …
Recent work [1] demonstrated high coercivity and magnetic moment in cobalt carbide nanoparticle assemblies and explained the high coercivity from first principles in terms of the high magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the cobalt carbide nanoparticles. In this work, we comprehensively model the interaction between the nanoparticles comprising the assembly and systematically understand the effect of particle size, distribution of the orientations of the nanoparticles' magnetocrystalline anisotropy axis with respect to the applied magnetic field, and dipole coupling between nanoparticles on the te…
Magnetic properties and charge transport mechanisms in oxygen-deficient HfxZr1-xO2-y nanoparticles
Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine（乌克兰国家科学院物理研究所）；Frantsevich Institute for Problems in Materials Science of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine（乌克兰国家科学院弗拉琴科材料科学问题研究所）；Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences（捷克科学院物理研究所）；Stockholm University, Department of Chemistry（斯德哥尔摩大学化学系）；Ye. O. Paton Institute of Materials Science and Welding, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”（乌克兰国立技术大学“伊戈尔·西科尔斯基基辅理工学院”叶·奥·帕顿材料科学与焊接研究所）
Hierarchical self-assembly arranges nanostructures at different length scales. It gradually becomes an effective method of fabricating artificial metamaterials from composite nanostructures tailored for a particular response. Hierarchical self-assembly overcomes shortcomings of "top-down" methods by significantly reducing fabrication time and making it possible to form bulk materials. Here we report an application of hierarchical self-assembly of metal nanoparticles for the creation of the first isotropic optical metamaterial with strong artificial magnetism in blue light. We have used colloid…
We report about the fabrication and characterization of iron oxide nanoparticle thin film superlattices. The formation into different film morphologies is controlled by tuning the particle plus solvent-to-substrate interaction. It turns out that the wetting vs. dewetting properties of the solvent before the self-assembly process during solvent evaporation plays a major role to determine the resulting film morphology. In addition to layerwise growth also three-dimensional mesocrystalline growth is evidenced. The understanding of the mechanisms ruling nanoparticle self-assembly represents an imp…
A hybrid block copolymer(BCP) nanocomposite computational model is proposed to study nanoparticles(NPs) with a generalised shape including squares, rectangles and rhombus. Simulations are used to study the role of anisotropy in the assembly of colloids within BCPs, ranging from NPs that are compatible with one phase, to neutral NPs. The ordering of square-like NPs into grid configurations within a minority BCP domain was investigated, as well as the alignment of nanorods in a lamellar-forming BCP, comparing the simulation results with experiments of mixtures of nanoplates and PS-\textit{b}-PMM…
Moving nanoparticles/atoms to study the nearfield interaction between them is one of the many approaches to explore the optical and electrical properties of these assemblies. Traditional approach included the self assembly by spinning or drying nanoparticles in aqua on the substrate is well practiced. Lithography technique is another popular approach to deposit limited nano/micro patterns on substrates. Later optical and mechanical manipulations were used to have more control over moving individual elements of nano and microstructures and even atoms. Optical tweezers, optical trapping and AFM …
: Understanding the correlations between magnetic nanoparticles is important for nanotechnologies, such as high-density magnetic recording and biomedical applications, where functionalized magnetic particles are used as contrast agents and for drug delivery. The ability to control the magnetic state of individual particles depends on the good knowledge of magnetic correlations between particles when assembled. Inaccessible via standard magnetometry techniques, nanoscale magnetic ordering in self-assemblies of Fe3O4 nanoparticles is here unveiled via x-ray resonant magnetic scattering (XRMS). M…
The magnetic behaviour of nanoparticles of antiferromagnetic ferritin has been investigated by 57Fe Mossbauer absorption spectroscopy and magnetisation measurements, in the temperature range 2.5K-250K and with magnetic fields up to 7T. Samples containing nanoparticles with an average number of Fe atoms ranging from 400 to 2500 were studied. The value of the anisotropy energy per unit volume was determined and found to be in the range 3-6 10**5 ergs/cm3, which is a value typical for ferric oxides. By comparing the results of the two experimental methods at large field, we show that, contratry t…
The aggregation of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles decreases the transverse nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation time T2 of adjacent water molecules measured by a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) pulse-echo sequence. This effect is commonly used to measure the concentrations of a variety of small molecules. We perform extensive Monte Carlo simulations of water diffusing around SPIO nanoparticle aggregates to determine the relationship between T2 and details of the aggregate. We find that in the motional averaging regime T2 scales as a power law with the number N of nan…
Magnetic and structural properties of magnetite nanoparticles stabilized in polyvinyl-alcohol thin films are investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and static magnetometry techniques. The nanoparticles have well-defined crystallinity, and are superparamagnetic at room temperature. Their size distribution is characterized by the distinct log-normal law (with average diameters near 5-7 nm) and slight maximum near 70-80 nm. The EPR spectra and static magnetization data demonstrated pronounced anomalies in the in…
The existence of magnetostriction in bulk BiFeO3 is still a matter of investigation and it is also an issue to investigate the magnetostriction effect in nano BiFeO3. Present work demonstrates the existence of magnetostrictive strain in superparamagnetic BiFeO3 nanoparticles at room temperature and the magnetoelectric coupling properties in composite form with P(VDFTrFE). Despite few reports on the magnetostriction effect in bulk BiFeO3 evidenced by the indirect method, the direct method (strain gauge) was employed in this work to examine the magnetostriction of superparamagnetic BiFeO3. In ad…
The ability to manufacture nanomaterials with complex and structured composition using otherwise incompatible materials increasingly underpins the next generation of technologies. This is translating into growing efforts integrating a wider range of materials onto key technology platforms1 - in photonics, one such platform is silica, a passive, low loss and robust medium crucial for efficient optical transport2. Active functionalisation, either through added gain or nonlinearity, is mostly possible through the integration of active materials3, 4. The high temperatures used in manufacturing of …
