Cited research: Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 207203 (2010)
Experimental findings confirm a theoretical prediction that certain chemically uniform nanoparticles have magnetically distinct cores and shells.
Using refined neutron-scattering techniques, Kathryn Krycka of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and her team probed the three-dimensional magnetic structure of magnetite nanoparticles nine nanometres wide. In the presence of an external magnetic field, they found a shell layer 1.0–1.5 nanometres thick in which magnetization was angled at 90° to the particle's core.
The findings indicate that nanoparticles cannot be assumed to have uniform magnetic moments — which could be useful in applications such as data storage. D.P.C.
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Nanoscience: Shifted shells. Nature 465, 529 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/465529a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/465529a