Superparamagnetic properties of carbon-encapsulated Ni nanoparticle assemblies

Carbon-encapsulated Ni nanoparticles [Ni(C)] were synthesized using a modified arc-discharge reactor under methane atmosphere. The average particle size was revealed to be typically 10.5 nm with a spherical shape. The intimate and contiguous carbon fringe around these Ni nanoparticles is good evidence for complete encapsulation by carbon shell layers. Superparamagnetic property studies indicate that the blocking temperature (TB) is around 115 K at 1000 Oe applied field. Below TB, the temperature dependence of the coercivity is given by Hc = Hci[1 -(T/TB)1/2], with Hci approximately 500 Oe. Above TB, the magnetization M(H, T) can be described by the classical Langevin function L using the relationship M/Ms(T = 0) = coth(microH/kT)-kT/microH. The particle size can be inferred from the Langevin fit (particle moment mu) and the blocking temperature theory (TB), with values slightly larger than the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations. It is suggested that these assemblies of carbon-encapsulated Ni nanoparticles have typical single-domain, field-dependent superparamagnetic relaxation properties.