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In situ synthesis of cobalt nanocrystal hierarchies in a transmission electron microscope

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Abstract

We report a versatile electron beam (e-beam) synthesis method for the local fabrication of ferromagnetic nanocrystals “on demand”. A localized irradiation in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) is used to convert a raw cobalt fluoride material into ferromagnetic metal by means of formation of a short-range ordered distribution of well-defined faceted three-dimensional (3D) cobalt nanocrystals on the carbon substrate. A range of sizes and morphologies can be obtained, depending on the size, intensity, and acceleration voltage of the e-beam and on the initial size/thickness of the 3D raw fluoride materials, with 300 kV acceleration voltage and thermionic LaB6 emission found most favorable. The nanofabrication of locally quasi-monodispersed, small sized, and well-distributed 3D nanocrystals opens up the possibility to generate particle arrays on demand with desirable magnetic properties.

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Acknowledgements

We thank for partial funding of this project by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), United Kingdom, Grant no. EP/G036748.

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  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK

    Thirunavukkarasu Gnanavel & Günter Möbus

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  1. Thirunavukkarasu Gnanavel
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  2. Günter Möbus
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Correspondence to Günter Möbus.

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Gnanavel, T., Möbus, G. In situ synthesis of cobalt nanocrystal hierarchies in a transmission electron microscope. J Nanopart Res 14, 683 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0683-6

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