Magnetic and structural characterization of silver-iron oxide nanoparticles obtained by the microemulsion technique

In the present paper we report the magnetic characterization of silver-iron oxide nanocomposite obtained by the chemical microemulsion method. TEM images and X-ray diffractograms show that the nanocomposite consists of Ag nanoparticles of ～ 7 nm surrounded by a quasiamorphous matrix. The ZFC–FC curves and Mössbauer spectra obtained at different temperatures show a typical evolution of a system composed of weakly interacting nanoparticles with a blocking temperature (T_b) of ～50 K. The analysis of the magnetic data reveals that the matrix is formed by γ-Fe₂O₃ phase with a structural range order of ～2 nm.