TY - JOUR
T1 - Origin of the large dispersion of magnetic properties in nanostructured oxides: FexO/Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a case study
AU - Estrader, Marta
AU - López-Ortega, Alberto
AU - Golosovsky, Igor V.
AU - Estradé, Sònia
AU - Roca, Alejandro G.
AU - Salazar-Alvarez, German
AU - López-Conesa, Lluís
AU - Tobia, Dina
AU - Winkler, Elin
AU - Ardisson, José D.
AU - Macedo, Waldemar A.A.
AU - Morphis, Andreas
AU - Vasilakaki, Marianna
AU - Trohidou, Kalliopi N.
AU - Gukasov, Arsen
AU - Mirebeau, Isabelle
AU - Makarova, O. L.
AU - Zysler, Roberto D.
AU - Peiró, Francesca
AU - Baró, Maria Dolors
AU - Bergström, Lennart
AU - Nogués, Josep
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - © 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. The intimate relationship between stoichiometry and physicochemical properties in transition-metal oxides makes them appealing as tunable materials. These features become exacerbated when dealing with nanostructures. However, due to the complexity of nanoscale materials, establishing a distinct relationship between structure-morphology and functionalities is often complicated. In this regard, in the FexO/Fe3O4 system a largely unexplained broad dispersion of magnetic properties has been observed. Here we show, thanks to a comprehensive multi-technique approach, a clear correlation between the magneto-structural properties in large (45 nm) and small (9 nm) FexO/Fe3O4 core/shell nanoparticles that can explain the spread of magnetic behaviors. The results reveal that while the FexO core in the large nanoparticles is antiferromagnetic and has bulk-like stoichiometry and unit-cell parameters, the FexO core in the small particles is highly non-stoichiometric and strained, displaying no significant antiferromagnetism. These results highlight the importance of ample characterization to fully understand the properties of nanostructured metal oxides.
AB - © 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. The intimate relationship between stoichiometry and physicochemical properties in transition-metal oxides makes them appealing as tunable materials. These features become exacerbated when dealing with nanostructures. However, due to the complexity of nanoscale materials, establishing a distinct relationship between structure-morphology and functionalities is often complicated. In this regard, in the FexO/Fe3O4 system a largely unexplained broad dispersion of magnetic properties has been observed. Here we show, thanks to a comprehensive multi-technique approach, a clear correlation between the magneto-structural properties in large (45 nm) and small (9 nm) FexO/Fe3O4 core/shell nanoparticles that can explain the spread of magnetic behaviors. The results reveal that while the FexO core in the large nanoparticles is antiferromagnetic and has bulk-like stoichiometry and unit-cell parameters, the FexO core in the small particles is highly non-stoichiometric and strained, displaying no significant antiferromagnetism. These results highlight the importance of ample characterization to fully understand the properties of nanostructured metal oxides.
U2 - 10.1039/c4nr06351a
DO - 10.1039/c4nr06351a
M3 - Article
SN - 2040-3364
VL - 7
SP - 3002
EP - 3015
JO - Nanoscale
JF - Nanoscale
ER -