Departament de Física Fonamental, Institut de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
Nanoscale. 2015 Nov 14;7(42):17764-70. doi: 10.1039/c5nr04424c. Epub 2015 Oct 12.
Magnetic domain configurations in two samples containing small aggregates of Fe(3-x)O4 nanoparticles of about 11 and 49 nm in size, respectively, were characterized by magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Two distinct magnetic behaviors were observed depending on the particle size. The aggregates constituted of nanoparticles of about 11 nm in size showed a uniform dark contrast on MFM images, reflecting the predominant superparamagnetic character of these particles and arising from the coherent rotation of the spins within the aggregate as the latter align along the tip stray-field. By applying a variable in-plane field, it is possible to induce magnetic polarization yielding an increasing dark/bright contrast as the strength of the applied field overcomes the stray-field of the tip, although this polarization completely disappears as the remanent state is recovered when the magnetic field is switched off. On the contrary, for aggregates of NPs of about 49 nm in size, dark/bright contrast associated with the existence of magnetic domains and magnetic polarization prevails in MFM images all along the magnetic cycle due to the blocking state of the magnetization of these larger particles, even in the absence of an applied field. All in all, we unambiguously demonstrate the capabilities of magnetic force microscopy to distinguish between blocked and superparamagnetic states in the aggregates of magnetic nanoparticles. Micromagnetic simulations strongly support the conclusions stated from the MFM experiments.
两个分别含有约 11nm 和 49nm 尺寸的 Fe(3-x)O4 纳米颗粒小聚集体的样品中的磁畴结构,通过磁力显微镜(MFM)进行了表征。观察到两种不同的磁行为取决于颗粒的大小。由约 11nm 尺寸的纳米颗粒组成的聚集体在 MFM 图像上显示出均匀的暗对比,反映了这些颗粒主要的超顺磁特性,这是由于聚集体中的自旋在沿着针尖杂散场排列时的相干旋转而产生的。通过施加一个可变的面内磁场,可以诱导磁极化,随着施加磁场的强度克服针尖的杂散场,暗/亮对比度会增加,尽管当磁场关闭时,残余状态恢复时,这种极化会完全消失。相反,对于约 49nm 尺寸的 NPs 聚集体,由于这些较大颗粒的磁化处于被钉扎状态,即使在没有外加磁场的情况下,MFM 图像中始终存在与磁畴和磁极化相关的暗/亮对比度,这归因于这些较大颗粒的磁化的被钉扎状态。总之,我们明确证明了磁力显微镜能够区分磁纳米颗粒聚集体中的被钉扎状态和超顺磁状态。微磁模拟强烈支持从 MFM 实验得出的结论。
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