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Determination of the anisotropy constant and saturation magnetization of magnetic nanoparticles from magnetization relaxation curves

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Abstract

We have developed a new method for the determination of the anisotropy constant and saturation magnetization of magnetic nanoparticles. This method deals with the approximation of magnetization relaxation curves measured upon application and further fast switching off the dc magnetizing field. The relaxation process is registered in the time interval from 6 μs to several minutes by using a scanning high-T C SQUID-microscope equipped with a specially designed electronic circuit composed of a fast solid-state switch and a low-inductance magnetizing coil. The algorithm for calculating the approximation data is based on the activation Néel–Arrhenius law and takes into account the size distribution of the nanoparticles and the angular distribution of their easy axes. The performance of the method is demonstrated on dilute (∼0.2 vol%) ensembles of near-spherical Fe3O4 nanoparticles with a mean size of 7.7 nm and a standard deviation of 45% as determined from transmission electron microscopy data.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research under the projects # 06-02-16776-a and # 07-02-91227-YaF_a.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    Ivan Volkov, Maxim Chukharkin & Oleg Snigirev

  2. Chemical Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    Alexander Volkov

  3. Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Japan

    Saburo Tanaka

  4. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Coenrad Fourie

Authors
  1. Ivan Volkov
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  2. Maxim Chukharkin
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  3. Oleg Snigirev
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  4. Alexander Volkov
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  5. Saburo Tanaka
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  6. Coenrad Fourie
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Correspondence to Ivan Volkov.

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Volkov, I., Chukharkin, M., Snigirev, O. et al. Determination of the anisotropy constant and saturation magnetization of magnetic nanoparticles from magnetization relaxation curves. J Nanopart Res 10, 487–497 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-007-9282-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-007-9282-y

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