Synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles by pulsed laser ablation

Magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation of Fe foil in ethanol. The nanoparticles consisted of Fe3O4 and Fe3C and were superparamagnetic with a saturation magnetization M-s = 124 emu/g. Zero field cooled (ZFC) measurements collected at an applied field of 50 Oe displayed a maximum magnetic susceptibility at 120 K with a broad distribution. Field cooled (FC) measurements collected during cooling and heating showed a thermal hysteresis indicative of temperature dependent magnetic viscosity. The magnetic viscosity was calculated from thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) plots and it increased with decreasing temperature. The activation volume of these non uniform magnetic states was calculated from TRM measurements and it was found to decrease with decreasing temperature. The decrease in activation diameters was interpreted as a decrease in exchange length, and hence a decrease in particle-particle interactions. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.