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International audience; A series of (Nd1-xSmx)Fe11Ti alloys with the ThMn12 crystal structure have been fabricated and characterized in order to promote a strong uniaxial anisotropy in NdFe11Ti without the need of nitrogenation. The compounds show small changes in the lattice parameters and cell volume, as well as Curie temperature and spontaneous magnetization. The anisotropy field, however, rapidly increases with the incorporation of Sm and overcomes the effect of nitrogenation, reaching values > 4 T for a 30% Sm content. Mössbauer spectroscopy indicates that the quadrupole splitting is correlated with the magnetic anisotropy. These alloys are good candidates for permanent magnets, provided the correct microstructure is developed to increase coercivity. more...

ThMn12 nitrides are good candidates for high performance permanent magnets. However, one of the remaining challenges is to transfer the good properties of the powder into a useful bulk magnet. Thus, understanding the denitrogenation process of this phase is of key importance. In this study, we investigate the magnetic and structural stability of the (Nd0.75,Pr0.25)1.2Fe10.5Mo1.5Nx compound (x=0 and 0.85) as function of temperature by means of neutron powder diffraction. Thermal dependence of the lattice parameters, formation of α-(Fe,Mo), as well as the nitrogen content in the nitrides are investigated by heating the compounds up to 1010 K. The decomposition takes place mainly via the formation of the α-(Fe,Mo) phase, which starts at around 900 K, whereas the nitrogen remains stable in the lattice. Additionally, we show that the magnetic properties of the nitrides [M(4T)=90Am2/kg and Hc=0.55 T] are maintained after the thermal treatments up to 900 K. This study demonstrates that the ThMn12 nitrides with the Mo stabilizing element offer good prospects for a bulk magnet provided an adequate processing route is found., The authors acknowledge the project “SpINS: Spanish Initiatives on Neutron Scattering,” funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the CSIC for the neutron beam time granted on the “CRG-D1B.” Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) is also acknowledged. We are also thankful for technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU) and particularly the services of X-Ray Molecules and Materials (Dr. Aitor Larrañaga Varga) and Magnetic Measurements (Dr. Iñaki Orue). This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 686056 (NOVAMAG). more...

International audience; The influence of quenching rate and nitrogenation in melt-spun Nd 1.2 Fe 10.6 Mo 1.4 has been investigated in terms of microstructure, phase formation and magnetic properties. Increasing the quenching rate leads to smaller grain size. However, it also implies a change in the crystallized phase structure. We obtained a pure ThMn 12 (1:12) structure at quenching rates up to 30 m/s, leading to an average grain size of 220 nm. Magnetic measurements of the as-spun ribbons revealed a reduction of the saturation magnetization for samples quenched above 30 m/s. This is attributed to the formation of a paramagnetic phase and/or magnetic phase with a Curie temperature (Tc) close to room temperature which is confirmed by 57 Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The analysis of the spectra rules out the presence of a ferromagnetic TbCu7 (1:7) phase, which is usually reported in such system. The ribbons were nitrogenated in order to form the harder magnetic phase Nd 1.2 Fe 10.6 Mo 1.4 N x. The ribbon quenched at 30 m/s with the pure ThMn 12 nitride structure is the optimum sample for getting hard magnetic properties, with a coercivity of 0.6 T, saturation magnetization of 1.15 T and Curie temperature of 350 °C. Finally, we show the good stability of the later phase structure at elevated temperatures (≤ T C), making this compound a good candidate for permanent magnet applications. more...

International audience; Nd(1-x)Zr(x)Fe10Si2 alloys have been prepared in the tetragonal ThMn12-type structure by arc-melting and melt-spinning and then nitrogenated to improve their magnetic properties. For x = 0.4 and 0.6 the Curie temperature and magnetic anisotropy fields increase from 280-300 ºC to about 390 ºC and from 2.8-3 T to 4.5-5 T respectively. The saturation magnetization remains almost unchanged. The nitrogenated powders were processed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) leading to compact pellets, which retain the full nitrogen content and magnetic properties up to 600 ºC, but segregated Fe-Si at elevated temperatures. Nitrogenation and SPS processing are, therefore, appropriate for sintering metastable materials such as (Nd,Zr)Fe10Si2 into compact material without loosing functional properties. This opens a way towards a new family of permanent magnets, lean of critical raw materials. more...

We investigate the effect of several coatings applied in biomedical applications to iron oxide nanoparticles on the size, structure and composition of the particles. The four structural techniques employed - TEM, DLS, VSM, SAXS and EXAFS - show no significant effects of the coatings on the spherical shape of the bare nanoparticles, the average sizes or the local order around the Fe atoms. The NPs coated with hydroxylmethylene bisphosphonate or catechol have a lower proportion of magnetite than the bare and citrated ones, raising the question whether the former are responsible for increasing the valence state of the oxide on the NP surfaces and lowering the overall proportion of magnetite in the particles. VSM measurements show that these two coatings lead to a slightly higher saturation magnetization than the citrate. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Science for Life" Guest Editor: Dr. Austen Angell, Dr. Salvatore Magazu and Dr. Federica Migliardo. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. more...

This work reports on the preparation and characterization of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films, exploring their anisotropic electrical resistivity behaviour evolution as a function of the different preparation conditions. Results show that by increasing the oxygen content in the work gas flow, the electrical resistivity increases from about 2.4 x 10(-2) Omega.cm (common in fairly conductive-like materials) to values in order of M Omega.cm, which is typical of materials that vary from semiconducting to roughly insulating type. Regarding the thin films structural behaviour, a relatively clear evolution of the preferential growth becomes clear when preparing the films within the three different regimes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed the development of a polycrystalline hexagonal-like structure, confirmed by the presence of dominant and very intense ZnO (002) and ZnO (101) diffraction peaks. A change in preferential growth was noticed with the change in the preparation conditions.By in-air annealing the samples from room temperature (RT) up to 200 degrees C and cooling down to RT again, the differences between the resistivity values along the xx and yy directions become significant, a clear sign of the anisotropic nature of the films. The anisotropy obtained during the annealing cycles of the films increased from 0.98 to 1.10 and, consequently, the Temperature Coefficient of Resistance, TCR, increased in both xx and yy directions, from TCRxx (and yy) similar to 9.0x10(-4) to TCRxx = 6.82 x 10(-3) and TCRyy = 5.97 x 10(-3) degrees C-1. Important also to note is that the increase of the grain size of the films showed to have a significant effect in the effective anisotropy, revealing to be a major factor to take into account., This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013 and project PTDC/EEI-SII/5582/2014 and by the Region of Franche-Comte, the French RENATECH network and performed in cooperation with the Labex ACTION program (contract ANR-11-LABX-01-01). A. Ferreira thanks the FCT for grant SFRH/BPD/102402/2014. Financial support from the Basque Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK Program is also acknowledged., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion more...

Disorder among surface spins is a dominant factor in the magnetic response of magnetic nanoparticle systems. In this work, we examine time-dependent magnetization in high-quality, monodisperse hollow maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) with a 14.8 ± 0.5 nm outer diameter and enhanced surface-to-volume ratio. The nanoparticle ensemble exhibits spin-glass-like signatures in dc magnetic aging and memory protocols and ac magnetic susceptibility. The dynamics of the system slow near 50 K and become frozen on experimental time scales below 20 K. Remanence curves indicate the development of magnetic irreversibility concurrent with the freezing of the spin dynamics. A strong exchange-bias effect and its training behavior point to highly frustrated surface spins that rearrange much more slowly than interior spins. Monte Carlo simulations of a hollow particle corroborate strongly disordered surface layers with complex energy landscapes that underlie both glass-like dynamics and magnetic irreversibility. Calculated hysteresis loops reveal that magnetic behavior is not identical at the inner and outer surfaces, with spins at the outer surface layer of the 15 nm hollow particles exhibiting a higher degree of frustration. Our combined experimental and simulated results shed light on the origin of spin-glass-like phenomena and the important role played by the surface spins in magnetic hollow nanostructures. more...