Magnetic properties and the mechanism of formation of the uncompensated magnetic moment of antiferromagnetic ferrihydrite nanoparticles of a bacterial origin

The magnetic properties of the superparamagnetic ferrihydrite nanoparticles that form as a result of the vital activity of Klebsiella oxytoca bacteria are studied. Both an initial powder with an average number of iron atoms N _Fe ～ 2000–2500 in a particle and this powder after annealing at 140°C for 3 h in air are investigated. The following substantial modifications of the magnetic properties of the ferrihydrite nanoparticles are detected after annealing: the superparamagnetic blocking temperature increases from 23 to 49.5 K, and the average magnetic moment of a particle increases (as follows from the results of processing of magnetization curves). The particles have antiferromagnetic ordering, and the magnetic moment resulting in the superparamagnetism of the system appears due to random spin decompensation inside the particle. For this mechanism, the number of uncompensated spins is proportional to the number of magnetically active atoms raised to the one-half power, and this relation holds true for the samples under study at a good accuracy. The possible causes of the detected shift of magnetic hysteresis loops at low temperatures upon field cooling are discussed.     

Specific features of magnetic properties of ferrihydrite nanoparticles of bacterial origin: A shift of the hysteresis loop

The results of the experimental investigation into the magnetic hysteresis of systems of superparamagnetic ferrihydrite nanoparticles of bacterial origin have been presented. The hysteresis properties of these objects are determined by the presence of an uncompensated magnetic moment in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles. It has been revealed that, under the conditions of cooling in an external magnetic field, there is a shift of the hysteresis loop with respect to the origin of the coordinates. These features are associated with the exchange coupling of the uncompensated magnetic moment and the antiferromagnetic “core” of the particles, as well as with processes similar to those responsible for the behavior of minor hysteresis loops due to strong local anisotropy fields of the ferrihydrite nanoparticles.     

Effect of ultrasonic treatment on magnetic ferrihydrite nanoparticles in a suspended state

Dried sediments of magnetic ferrihydrite nanoparticles subjected to ultrasonic treatment in the cavitation mode are studied via Mössbauer spectroscopy. Fe ions are reduced to the metal state. In all experiments with detected metal reduction, the investigated suspensions contain organic components.     

Non-Langevin behaviour of the uncompensated magnetization in nanoparticles of artificial ferritin

The magnetic behaviour of nanoparticles of antiferromagnetic artificial ferritin has been investigated by ⁵⁷Fe M?ssbauer absorption spectroscopy and magnetization measurements, in the temperature range 2.5-250 K and with magnetic fields up to 7 T. Samples containing nanoparticles with an average number of ⁵⁷Fe atoms ranging from 400 to 2 500 were studied. By analysing the magnetic susceptibility and zero field M?ssbauer data, the anisotropy energy per unit volume is found, in agreement with some of the earlier studies, to have a value typical for ferric oxides, i.e. a few 10⁵ ergs/cm³. By comparing the results of the two experimental methods at higher fields, we show that, contrary to what is currently assumed, the uncompensated magnetization of the ferritin cores in the superparamagnetic regime does not follow a Langevin law. For magnetic fields below the spin-flop field, we propose an approximate law for the field and temperature variation of the uncompensated magnetization, which was early evoked by Néel but has so far never been applied to real antiferromagnetic systems. More generally, this approach should apply to randomly oriented antiferromagnetic nanoparticles systems with weak uncompensated moments. Received 20 January 2000     

A novel investigation of tin-doped ferrihydrite nanoparticles

Tin-doped ferrihydrite was synthesized and characterized with powder X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe and ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy to obtain diagnostic and structural information. Samples were prepared with doping concentrations (molar percentages) of 0, 10, 25, 40, 50, 60, 75, and 90% tin. As Sn concentration increases, the 110 reflection plane of ferrihydrite shifts to higher d-values, while the 300 plane d-values increase, reach a maximum and then sharply drop. The δ (isomer shift) and Δ (quadrupole splitting) values for ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra increase, while the Γ (line width) values stay constant. In ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectra, δ values decrease with increasing tin substitution while Δ and Γ values increase. After 50% Sn has been substituted, the ferrihydrite becomes oversaturated with surface tin and a secondary tin structure is proposed to develop.     

Magnetic properties and heating effect in bacterial magnetic nanoparticles

A suspension of bacterial magnetosomes was investigated with respect to structural and magnetic properties and hyperthermic measurements. The mean particle diameter of about 35 nm was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray and magnetic analysis. The X-ray powder diffraction peaks of magnetosomes fit very well with standard Fe₃O₄ reflections. The found value for specific absorption rate (SAR) of 171 W/g at 5 kA/m and 750 kHz means that magnetosomes may be considered as good materials for the biomedical applications in hyperthermia treatments. Moreover, they have biocompatible phospholipid membrane.     

Design and fabrication of non-superparamagnetic high moment magnetic nanoparticles for bioapplications

We present a new type of magnetic nanoparticles for bioapplications. Multilayered nanodisks consisting of two magnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic layer with two capping layers were designed and fabricated. Two key magnetic requirements for bioapplications, a high saturation magnetic moment and a near-zero remanence, were achieved through the magnetostatic interlayer coupling between two magnetic layers. Capping layers provide functionalization sites for biomolecule attachment. A pillar-template-based synthesis method was employed for fabrication. Nanodisks with a diameter of 70 nm and a thickness of 60 nm were produced in large quantity. The magnetic characterization shows that each nanodisk possesses a magnetic moment equivalent to 100 10-nm Co nanoparticles and a near-zero remanent moment.     

A significantly enhanced magnetic moment due to an electric dipole moment

We demonstrate via first-principle calculations based on the density functional theory that the magnetic moment of a helium atom under a given magnetic field has a positive correlation with the electric dipole moment when an external electric field is applied to the system. Our calculation shows that the enhancement of the magnetic moment is significant due to the reduction of the tripletsinglet splitting. We argue that this finding can be generalized to organic molecules, especially to macromol...     

Vacuum magnetic moment of an electron moving in a uniform magnetic field

The methods of quantum electrodynamics are used to study the dependence of the vacuum magnetic moment of the electron on its energy and on the magnetic field intensity. This dependence is most important in the case of strong magnetic fields. For an ultrarelativistic electron, the vacuum magnetic moment turns out to depend on the electron energy, even in a weak magnetic field.Translated from Izvestiya VUZ. Fizika, Vol. 11, No. 11, pp. 17–22, November, 1968.     

Uniform spin wave modes in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles with uncompensated moments

In magnetic nanoparticles the uniform precession (q = 0 spin wave) mode gives the predominant contribution to the magnetic excitations. We have calculated the energy of the uniform mode in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles with uncompensated magnetic moments, using the coherent potential approximation. In the presence of uncompensated moments, an antiferromagnetic nanoparticle must be considered as a kind of a ferrimagnet. Two magnetic anisotropy terms are considered, a planar term confining the spins to the basal plane, and an axial term determining an easy axis in this plane. Excitation energies are calculated for various combinations of these two anisotropy terms, ranging from the simple uniaxial case to the planar case with a strong out-of-plane anisotropy. In the simple uniaxial case, the uncompensated moment has a large influence on the excitation energy, but in the planar case it is much less important. The calculations explain recent neutron scattering measurements on nanoparticles of antiferromagnetic α-Fe₂O₃ and NiO.     

Macroscopic coherent tunneling in a small particle of an uncompensated antiferromagnet in a strong magnetic field

A new macroscopic quantum tunneling effect is predicted for a particle of an uncompensated ferritin-type antiferromagnet in a noncollinear phase induced by a strong magnetic field. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 5, 369–374 (10 March 1999)     

Giant increase in the longitudinal magnetic moment of an exciton in motion

The observation of a new physical phenomenon, a giant increase in the longitudinal magnetic moment of an exciton in motion, is reported. The effect is observed in the wide GaAs-, CdTe-, and ZnSe-based quantum wells, with a width much larger than the exciton Bohr radius, and hence relates to any crystals with a zinc-blend structure.     

Structural investigations of synthetic ferrihydrite nanoparticles doped with Si

X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoacoustic/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (PA/FTIR) are employed to monitor the changes in the structural aspects of two-line ferrihydrite (FHYD) nanoparticles doped with silica viz. Si_xFe_1−xOOH·nH₂O for x=0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.26, 0.40 and 0.50. In XRD, crystallinity decreases and d-spacings increase with increase in x. TEM studies show that the particle size increases systematically with increase in x, from 3.7 nm for x=0 to 5.7 nm for x=0.50. In PA/FTIR, two new bands appear, band F near 3700 cm⁻¹ identified with the surface Si-O-H group and band A near 900 cm⁻¹ identified with Si-O-Fe group, which shifts to higher wavenumbers with increase in x. These results are used to propose a model in which doped Si⁴⁺ ions do not displace Fe³⁺ ions but are chemisorbed on the FHYD surface making a shell of silica for higher doping. This model is consistent with the reported changes in the magnetic properties of FHYD with Si doping.     

Superparamagnetism in an aluminium substituted ferrihydrite

Mössbauer spectra of aluminium doped ferrihydrites prepared by rapid evaporation of a nitrate solution are shown to exhibit doublet/sextet coexistence characteristic of superparamagnetism. In undoped ferrihydrite an additional broad transitional component is observed over a considerable temperature range; this component is absent from the spectra of samples with >66% aluminium. Possible causes of this change in behaviour on aluminium doping, including superferromagnetism, non-collinearity, ionic spin relaxation in the pure material, and the isolation of small clusters beyond the percolation limit in the doped material, are discussed.     

Approximate calculation of the magnetic moment of an elliptic-profile cylinder in a uniform alternating magnetic field

Equations are derived for the magnetic moment of a cylinder of elliptic profile magnetized by a uniform alternating magnetic field. The problem is solved by the approximate Neumann-Gel'bukh method. A correction which permits the use of the Neumann-Gel'bukh method for small ¦k¦a >- 1 is proposed for calculating the magnetic moment of a cylinder with a permeability = 1. Approximate expressions are found for the magnetic moment of a circular cylinder and of a sphere having permeability of = 1. The calculation error does not exceed 17%.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, Vol. 12, No. 7, pp. 18–23, July, 1969.     

Magnetic moment of a quasi-one-dimensional nanostructure in an inclined magnetic field

Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures (carbon nanotubes and quantum channels) are investigated. It is shown that two types of aperiodic oscillations arise in such systems: oscillations involving a change in the strength of the magnetic field, and oscillations involving a change in the angle of inclination of the field with respect to the symmetry axis of the system. It is found that the monotonic part of the magnetic moment lies in the plane of size confinement of the system and that the oscillating part has both longitudinal and transverse components. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 7, 549–552 (10 April 1996)     

Magnetic and resonance properties of ferrihydrite nanoparticles doped with cobalt

Powders of undoped ferrihydrite nanoparticles and ferrihydrite nanoparticles doped with cobalt in the ratio of 5: 1 have been prepared by hydrolysis of 3d-metal salts. It has been shown using Mössbauer spectroscopy that cobalt is uniformly distributed over characteristic crystal-chemical positions of iron ions. The blocking temperatures of ferrihydrite nanoparticles have been determined. The nanoparticle sizes, magnetizations, surface anisotropy constants, and bulk anisotropy constants have been estimated. The doping of ferrihydrite nanoparticles with cobalt leads to a significant increase in the anisotropy constant of a nanoparticle and to the formation of surface rotational anisotropy with the surface anisotropy constant K _u = 1.6 × 10^–3 erg/cm².     

The magnetic moment of the proton

In this paper the author calculates the magnetic moment of a bare proton in a non-relativistic approximation on the condition that the proton is a particle which is capable of existing not only in a state with spin 1/2but also in a state with spin 3/2.