Monodispersed NiO nanoflowers with anomalous magnetic behavior

Nickel oxide (NiO) nanoflowers, prepared by thermal decomposition, exhibit anomalous magnetic properties far below the blocking temperature, i.e., a cusp in both the zero-field-cooled and field-cooled curves at about 21 K. Detailed characterization discloses that the individual NiO nanoflower consists of porous crystals with holes (1.0-1.5 nm in size) inside. We believe that the low temperature magnetic feature observed here could be a new kind of spin transition for the uncompensated spins around the holes and will trigger more studies in other nanostructured antiferromagnetic materials.