Synthesis, Structural and Magnetic Properties of Polypyrrole Coated Ni0.2Ca0.8Fe2O4 Nanocomposite

The nanoparticles of spinel ferrites having composition Ni_0.2Ca_0.8Fe₂O₄ were synthesized by an advanced sol-gel method and subsequently coated with intrinsically conducting polypyrrole (PPy) by chemical oxidative polymerization of the corresponding monomer (pyrrole) using ammonium peroxodisulphate as oxidant. The X-ray diffraction and TEM measurements were obtained to understand the crystalline structure, size and morphology of evolution of the samples. The dc electrical investigation revealed that at room temperature the surface conductivity increased from 2.8×10^?5 S?cm^?1 to 1.5×10^?3 S?cm^?1 on polymerization. M?ssbauer investigations revealed that the polymerization causes migration of Fe³⁺ ions from A to B site, resulting to the enhancement of the observed hyperfine field. In agreement with this, the dc magnetization measurements performed on VSM revealed an enhancement in saturation magnetization in the M?CH curves on polymerization. The value of blocking temperature (T _B) is found to have credibly increased from 110 K to 130 K, which confirms the increase in crystallite size after polymerization.     

Magnetic interactions in ball-milled spinel ferrites

Spinel Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles have been produced through ball milling in methyl-alcohol (CH₃OH) with the aim of producing samples with similar average particle sizes (d) and different interparticle interactions. Three samples with the Fe₃O₄ to CH₃(OH) mass ratios R of 3, 10 and 50 wt% were milled for several hours until particle size reached a steady value (d) ～6-10 nm). A detailed study of static and dynamic magnetic properties has been undertaken by measuring magnetization, ac susceptibility and Mössbauer data. As expected for small particles, the Verwey transition was not observed, but instead superparamagnetic (SPM) behavior was found with transition to a blocked state at T _B ～10-20 K. For samples having 3 wt% of magnetic particles, dynamic ac susceptibility measurements show a thermally activated Arrhenius dependence of the blocking temperature with applied frequency. This behavior is found to change as interparticle interactions begin to rule the dynamics of the system, yielding a spin-glass-like state at low temperatures for R = 50 wt% sample.     

Magnetic properties and microstructure of carbon encapsulated Ni nanoparticles and pure Ni nanoparticles coated with NiO layer

Two kinds of nickel nanoparticles—carbon encapsulated Ni nanoparticles Ni(C) and pure Ni nanoparticles coated with NiO layers Ni(O) are successfully prepared. Structural characterizations (HR-TEM, SAED, and XRD) reveal their distinct morphological properties. Magnetization measurements for the assemblies of two kinds of Ni nanoparticles show a larger coercivity and remanence by a deviation between the zero-field-cooled and the field-cooled magnetization below the irreversibility temperature, T_irr, for the assemblies of Ni(O) particles. This deviation may be explained as a typical nanocluster-glass behavior (collective behavior) due to ferromagnetic dipole-dipole interaction effects among the assemblies of Ni(O) particles. However, Ni(C) particles exhibit modified superparamagnetic properties above the average blocking temperature of T_B, which is determined to be around 115 K at 1000 Oe. Moreover, a gradual decrease in saturation magnetization is observed, which is attributed to the nanocrystalline nature of the encapsulated particles, coupled with possible carbon solution in Ni nanocrystals.     

Magnetization Steps in Phase Separated La0.5Ca0.5Mn1−y Fe y O3

We report a low temperature magnetic study on the phase separated polycrystalline manganites La_0.5Ca_0.5Mn_1?y Fe _y O₃ (0.02≤y≤0.06). Several abrupt and sizeable magnetization steps are observed in the M(H) curves of all samples at 2 K, which are associated to avalanche-like growth of the ferromagnetic phase. This work contributes to confirm that this feature is inherent to phase separated manganites, and is not restricted to particular compounds or kinds of doping.     

Synthesis,characterization and microwave absorption properties of Fe3O4/Co core/shell-type nanoparticles

Co coated Fe₃O₄ core/shell-type nanoparticles were fabricated by hydrothermal technique and electroless plating process. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed to investigate the crystal structure, element composition and morphology of the prepared nanoparticles. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and vector network analyzer were used to measure the magnetic properties and electromagnetic parameters of pure Fe₃O₄ and Fe₃O₄/Co core/shell-type nanoparticles, then reflection losses (RL(dB)) were calculated in the frequency range of 2–18 GHz. Magnetic studies revealed typical ferromagnetic behavior for the pure Fe₃O₄ and Fe₃O₄/Co core/shell-type nanoparticles with their saturation magnetization (M_s = 63.1 and 72.4 emu/g) and coercivity (H_c = 99.5, and 165.4 Oe), respectively. Due to the existence of the core/shell structure, the electromagnetic characteristic of the Fe₃O₄/Co nanoparticles exhibit better microwave absorption performance than the pure Fe₃O₄ in the range of 2–18 GHz, such as more powerful absorbing property and wider frequency band of microwave absorption.     

Biocompatible nanoclusters of <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-carboxymethyl chitosan-coated Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanoparticles: synthesis,characterization and magnetic heating efficiency

In this work, we developed a polymer encapsulation of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles as a core–shell nanocluster with different sizes to investigate the cluster structure effect on their magnetic properties and magnetic heating behavior. Well-dispersed nanoclusters of O-carboxymethyl chitosan-coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by microwave-assisted co-precipitation. The cluster sizes were tunable by varying the concentration of polymers used during synthesis. Nanoclusters present superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature with a reduction in saturation magnetization as a consequence of coating layer. The shift of blocking temperature to the higher value with increasing clusters size shows the stronger magnetic interaction in larger magnetic clusters. In a low alternating magnetic field with frequency of 178 Hz and amplitude of 103 Oe, nanoclusters offer a high heating efficiency. A maximum specific absorption rate of 204 W/g is observed in the sample with hydrodynamic size of 53 nm. In vitro cytotoxicity analysis performed on HeLa cells verified that nanoclusters show a good biocompatibility and can be an excellent candidate for applications in hyperthermia cancer treatment.     

Observation of Small Exchange Bias in Defect Wüstite (Fe0.93O) Nanoparticles

Wüstite nanoparticles have been prepared by mechanochemical processing (MCP), using high-purity hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) and iron (Fe) powders as the raw materials. In order to get a single-phase wüstite, different mole ratios of (Fe/Fe₂O₃) were milled. X-ray diffraction studies of the as-milled powders show that a single-phase wüstite was formed. Using the formula a=4.334?0.478x, for Fe_1?x O, where “a” is the lattice parameter of wüstite, a nonstoichiometric composition of Fe_0.93O was estimated for the wüstite single phase. A mean crystallite size of 13±1 nm was calculated for the single phase wüstite, using Scherrer’s formula. The morphology of the powders was also checked by TEM. The room-temperature Mössbauer spectra of the samples supported the presence of Fe³⁺ in octahedral sites of wüstite phase, which is a sign of its nonstoichiometry. Hysteresis loops of the as-milled powders at 5 K and room temperature have been obtained by SQUID and by VSM systems, respectively. The loops show nonzero coercivity, in contrast to the bulk wüstite. The observed magnetizations can be explained by a model based on the spinel-type defect clusters in nonstoichiometry wüstite. Room temperature magnetic measurements showed that nanosized prepared wüstite ferrimagnetic-like behavior was interpreted according to spinel-like defect clusters. Therefore, small exchange bias effects 20 Oe and 38 Oe were observed in the magnetization curves at room and 5 K temperatures, respectively. According to the Dimitrov model, in the Fe_0.93O nonstoichiometry structure, there are 0.712 molecules of FeO and 0.072 molecules of Fe₃O₄, which the interaction between the antiferromagnetic (FeO) and ferrimagnetic (Fe₃O₄) phases in the Fe_1?x O can be the cause of the observed exchange bias effect in the hysteresis loops.     

Polyol Approach for the Synthesis of Water Soluble Mn3O4 Nanoparticles Using PEG

Polyethylene glycol (Mwt 400 and 10,000) stabilized Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized via the thermal decomposition approach. Structural characteristics were evaluated by XRD, FT-IR, TGA, VSM, and TEM analysis. Crystallite sizes were calculated as 10±3 and 15±5?nm for PEG-400 and PEG-10,000 stabilized Mn₃O₄ NPs, respectively. FT-IR and TGA proved the presence of PEG on the surface of Mn₃O₄ NPs. Magnetization measurements carried out at room and low temperatures revealed the superparamagnetic nature of the Mn₃O₄ NPs. The blocking temperature was detected as 39?K and thermomagnetic irreversibility starts at 40?K. Both coercive field and saturation magnetization increases as temperature decreases below T _C. Reduced magnetization compared to its bulk value has been explained by spin canting and presence of disordered spins. It was observed that the effects of different molecular weight PEG on the magnetic properties of the Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles are more or less the same.     

Synthesis, structural and magnetic characterization of iron-zinc-borate glass ceramics containing nanocrystalline zinc ferrite

Two different glass ceramics with the composition of the (Fe₂O₃)_x·(B₂O₃)_(60−x)·(ZnO)₄₀, where x = 12.5 and 15 mol%, have been synthesized using the melt-quench method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show the presence of nanometric zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) crystals, with spinel structure, in a glassy matrix after cooling from melting temperature. The estimated amount of crystallized zinc ferrite varies between 16 and 35%, as a function of the chemical composition. Glass transition (T_g), crystallization (T_p) and melting (T_m) temperatures were determined by differential thermal analysis (DTA) investigations. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) data revealed that the BO₃ and BO₄ are the main structural units of these glass ceramics network. FTIR spectra of these samples show features at characteristic vibration frequencies of ZnFe₂O₄. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements show the presence of isolated Fe³⁺ ions predominantly situated in rhombic vicinities and as well as the Fe³⁺ species interacting by dipole–dipole interaction or to their superexchange coupled pairs in clustered formations. The magnetic properties of the studied glass ceramics were investigated by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). From the magnetization curves for glass ceramic containing 15 mol% Fe₂O₃ it was found that the nanoparticles exhibit ferromagnetic interactions combined with superparamagnetism with a blocking temperature, T_B. For studied samples the hysteresis is present. The coercive field is dependent on composition and magnetic field being around 0.05 μ_B/f.u for measurements performed in maximum 0.4 T.     

Magnetic properties of nickel ferrite nanoparticles prepared using flotation extraction

A method has been proposed for the preparation of nickel ferrite nanoparticles in a system of direct sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles using ion flotation. Amorphous nickel ferrite nanoparticles with the overall composition xNiFe₂O₄ · yFe₂O₃ · zH₂O, containing dodecyl sulfate anion impurities, have been prepared. According to transmission electron microscopy results, the size distribution of the synthesized nanoparticles has a maximum in the range 4 to 6 nm, and the ferrite is X-ray amorphous. The blocking temperature of the synthesized nanoparticles is 25 K. The ferrite possesses superparamagnetic properties, with a specific saturation magnetization of 15 A m²/kg at 5 K.     

The Influence of Vanadium on Magnetism and Magnetocaloric Properties of Fe 8 0 − x V x B12Si8 (x = 8, 10, and 13.7) Amorphous Alloys

Amorphous soft magnetic Fe_80?x V _x B₁₂Si₈ ribbons (0 ≤ x ≤ 14) have been fabricated by melt spinning technique, and their magnetic and magnetocaloric properties have been studied. The value of magnetocaloric effect has been determined from the measurements of magnetization as a function of temperature and an external magnetic field. The addition of vanadium to the ternary Fe₈₀B₁₂Si₈ alloy results in a decrease of the Curie temperature of amorphous alloys, T _C, from 473.5 to 335 K. With an increasing V content, the average magnetic moment of Fe atom and the magnetic entropy change also decrease. Fe_66.3V_13.7B₁₂Si₈ alloy exhibits the highest refrigeration capacity of 93.7 J kg^?1 and moderate peak magnetic entropy of 1.034 J kg^?1 K^?1 (T _C = 335 K) under the maximum applied field of 2 T. The results from this work showed that V containing amorphous alloy 13.7 at. % is an interesting material and potential candidate for magnetic refrigerants working near room temperature. The observed ?ΔS_M ^max values compare favorably with other amorphous Fe-based alloys.     

Irreversibility Line Measurement and Vortex Dynamics in High Magnetic Fields in Ni- and Co-Doped Iron Pnictide Bulk Superconductors

The de-pinning or irreversibility lines were determined by ac susceptibility, magnetization, radio-frequency proximity detector oscillator (PDO), and resistivity methods in Ba(Fe_0.92Co_0.08)₂As₂ ( T _c = 23.2 K), Ba(Fe_0.95Ni_0.05)₂As₂ ( T _c = 20.4 K), and Ba(Fe_0.94Ni_0.06)₂As₂ ( T _c = 18.5 K) bulk superconductors in ac, dc, and pulsed magnetic fields up to 65 T. A new method of extracting the irreversibility fields from the radio-frequency proximity detector oscillator induction technique is described. Wide temperature broadening of the irreversibility lines, for any given combination of ac and dc fields, is dependent on the time frame of measurement. Increasing the magnetic field sweep rate (dH/dt) shifts the irreversibility lines to higher temperatures up to about dH/d t = 40,000 Oe/s; for higher dH/dt, there is little impact on the irreversibility line. There is an excellent data match between the irreversibility fields obtained from magnetization hysteresis loops, PDO, and ac susceptibility measurements, but not from resistivity measurements in these materials. Lower critical field vs. temperature phase diagrams are measured. Their very low values near 0 T indicate that these materials are in mixed state in nonzero magnetic fields, and yet the strength of the vortex pinning enables very high irreversibility fields, as high as 51 T at 1.5 K for the Ba(Fe_0.92Co_0.08)₂As₂ polycrystalline sample, showing a promise for liquid helium temperature applications.     

Magnetic Properties of Zn0.8(Fe0.1,Co0.1)O Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation

Structural and magnetic properties of Zn_0.8(Fe_0.1, Co_0.1)O bulk diluted magnetic semiconductor have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetic measurements. TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) images confirmed the high crystallinity and grain size of Zn_0.8(Fe_0.1,Co_0.1)O powder, the samples were characterized by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to confirm the expected stoichiometry. This sample has been synthesized by co-precipitation route. The study of magnetization hysteresis loop measurements infers that the bulk sample of Zn_0.8(Fe_0.1,Co_0.1)O shows a well-defined hysteresis loop at T _c (200?K) temperature, which reflects its ferromagnetic behavior. Hydrogenation treatment was used for the control of phase separation. Based on first-principles spin-density functional calculations, using the Korringa?CKohn?CRostoker method (KKR) combined with the coherent potential approximation (CPA), the ferromagnetic state energy was calculated and compared with the local-moment-disordered (LMD) state energy. The mechanism of hybridization and interaction between magnetic ions in Zn_0.8(Fe_0.1,Co_0.1)O is also investigated.     

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Pr0.6Sr0.4Mn1−x Fe x O3 (0≤x≤0.3) Manganites Oxide Prepared by the Ball Milling Method

We present the structural and magnetic properties of Pr_0.6Sr_0.4Mn_1?x Fe _x O₃ (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) compounds. Samples have been prepared by the ball milling method. Rietveld refinements of the X-ray powder diffraction data show that all our synthesized samples are single phase and crystallize in the orthorhombic symmetry with the Pnma space group. The unit cell volume increases with increasing the Fe content. The infrared spectrum shows two active bands, which can be ascribed to the internal stretching and bending modes. The magnetization measurements versus temperature showed that Fe doping leads to a weakening of the ferromagnetic ordering at low temperature, the Curie temperature T _C decreases from 300 K for x=0.0 to 88 K for x=0.2. The magnetization versus applied magnetic measurements at low temperature lead to conclude that the substitution of Mn³⁺ ions by Fe³⁺ ions triggers antiferromagnetic interactions between the Fe³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ spins, and also the magnetization versus applied magnetic measurements at room temperature shows a small hysteresis loop and a low coercive field, which indicates that the samples are superparamagnetic.     

Crystal structure and magnetic properties of Sr1 − x Sm x Fe12 − x Co x O19 solid solutions

Sr_{1 ? x} Sm _x Fe_{12 ? x} Co _x O₁₉ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) ferrites have been prepared by solid-state reactions in air at 1470 K using mixtures of samarium oxide, ferric oxide, Co₃O₄, and strontium carbonate. X-ray diffraction characterization showed that the samples with x < 0.2 were single-phase, whereas the samples with 0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.5 contained α-Fe₂O₃ and those with 0.3 ≤ x ≤ 0.5 contained SmFeO₃, CoFe₂O₄, and Sm₂O₃ as well. The highest degree of Sm³⁺ and Co²⁺ substitutions for Sr²⁺ and Fe³⁺ (x) in the SrFe₁₂O₁₉ ferrite at 1470 K was determined to be slightly less than 0.2. This substitution only slightly decreases the a and c parameters of the hexagonal lattice and the Curie temperature (T _C) of the material. At temperatures of 5 and 300 K in magnetic fields of up to 14 T, we obtained magnetic hysteresis loops, which were used to evaluate the spontaneous magnetization (σ₀), specific saturation magnetization (σ_s), and coercive force (_σ H _c) of the ferrites. The experimentally determined 5-K spontaneous magnetization per formula unit (n ₀) of the x = 0.1 ferrite is 20.86μ_B, which coincides with the theoretical value calculated as n ₀ = (8 × 5) ? (3.9 × 5 ? 0.1 × 3) = 20.8μ_B. At 300 K, the n ₀ and _σ H _c of Sr_0.9Sm_0.1Fe_11.9Co_0.1O₁₉ exceed those of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ by 7.7 and 9.9%, respectively.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Mn nanoparticles prepared by arc-discharge

Mn nanoparticles are prepared by arc discharge technique. MnO, α-Mn, β-Mn, and γ-Mn are detected by X-ray diffraction, while the presence of Mn₃O₄ and MnO₂ is revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy observations show that most of the Mn nanoparticles have irregular shapes, rough surfaces and a shell/core structure, with sizes ranging from several nanometers to 80 nm. The magnetic properties of the Mn nanoparticles are investigated between 2 and 350 K at magnetic fields up to 5 T. A magnetic transition occurring near 43 K is attributed to the formation of the ferrimagnetic Mn₃O₄. The coercivity of the Mn nanoparticles, arising mainly from Mn₃O₄, decreases linearly with increasing temperature below 40 K. Below the blocking temperature T_B ≈ 34 K, the hysteresis loops exhibit large coercivity (up to 500 kA/m), owing to finite size effects, and irreversibility in the loops is found up to 4 T, and magnetization is not saturated up to 5 T. The relationship between structure and the magnetic properties are discussed.     

Intergrain Effects in the AC Susceptibility of?Polycrystalline LaFeAsO0.94F0.06

The AC susceptibility, ??, at zero DC magnetic field of a polycrystalline sample of LaFeAsO_0.94F_0.06 (T _c ??24?K) has been investigated as a function of the temperature, the amplitude of the AC magnetic field (in the range H _ac =0.003?Oe??4?Oe) and the frequency (in the range f=10?kHz??100?kHz). The ??(T) curve exhibits the typical two-step transition arising from the combined response of superconducting grains and intergranular weak-coupled medium. The intergranular part of ?? strongly depends on both the amplitude and the frequency of the AC driving field, from few Kelvin below T _c down to T=4.2?K. Our results show that, in the investigated sample, the intergrain critical current is not determined by pinning of Josephson vortices but by Josephson critical current across neighboring grains.     

A Simple Method for Measuring Intrinsic Blocking Temperature in Superparamagnetic Nanomaterials

Temperature-dependent magnetic flux density (B) data, clearly exhibiting a transition temperature called intrinsic blocking temperature for some metallic samples in zero field cooled-warmed (ZFC-W) curves without employing an external magnetic field, has been obtained by a simple method. The reasons of the increase and decrease in the measured B-field at low temperature in zero magnetic-field were discussed. Co, CoPt₃ and Co/Au, CoPt₃/Au core-shell nanoparticles, prepared by the reverse-micelle microemulsion method, were used as test materials. The blocking temperature was measured at a cusp of the measured magnetic field, B (produced by the sample), versus the temperature curve during warming up of the sample from a very low temperature (≤15 K) to room temperature. All the samples showed a blocking temperature at 45, 50, 40, and 42 K, respectively, for Co, CoPt₃, Co/Au, and CoPt₃/Au nanoparticles. A completely intrinsic behavior of the sample’s magnetic moment was revealed by our method since no applied external field was used, yielding a truly spontaneous magnetization behavior.     

Magnetic Properties of Nanosized Ba2Mg2Fe12O22 Powders Obtained by Auto-combustion

We studied the magnetic properties of nanosized Ba₂Mg₂Fe₁₂O₂₂ powder obtained by citrate auto-combustion synthesis. The powder consists of agglomerates with mean crystallite size of 100?nm. The magnetic properties of the powder were investigated at 4.2?K and at room temperature. The values measured of the magnetization M at a magnetic field of 60?kOe are 22.78?emu/g and 30.47?emu/g at room temperature and 4.2?K, respectively. The magnetic phase transition at 183 K is related to the ferromagnetic-to-spiral spin order and is a precondition for this material??s exhibiting multiferroic properties.