Temperature-induced phenomena in systems of magnetic nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticle ensembles have received a lot of attention, stemming in part from their current and potential applications in biomedicine and in the development of high-density magnetic storage media. Key to the functionality of these systems are microscopic structures and mechanisms that make them exhibit unique properties and behave differently from their bulk counterparts. We studied microscopic structures and processes that dictate macroscopic properties, behavior and functionality of magnetic nanoparticle ensembles. As the temperature T strongly influences the magnetic behavior of these systems, we studied temperature dependent magnetic properties using AC-susceptibility and DC-magnetization measurements carried out over a broad range of temperatures, between 3 and 300 K. We extracted structural information from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and direct imaging techniques and correlate it with magnetic properties, in an attempt at better understanding the microscopic structures and magnetic mechanisms responsible for the macroscopic magnetic behavior. We studied ensembles of magnetic nanoparticles: nickel ferrite immobilized in a solid matrix and cobalt ferrite immersed in carrier fluid respectively, in order to explore their potential use in biomedical applications and magnetic recording. For both NiFe2O4(NFO) and Co0.2Fe2.8O4 (CFO) relaxation mechanisms were determined. Structural properties and average particle sizes were derived from XRD, including synchrotron XRD, and direct imaging techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Temperature dependent magnetic measurements, FC-ZFC DC magnetometry, as well as AC complex susceptibility measurements at frequencies between 10 and 10,000 Hz were carried out within the temperature range 3