Magnetic Properties of Strontium Hexaferrite Nanostructures Measured with Magnetic Force Microscopy

Magnetic property is one of the important properties of nanomaterials. Direct investigation of the magnetic property on the nanoscale is however challenging. Herein we present a quantitative measurement of the magnetic properties including the magnitude and the orientation of the magnetic moment of strontium hexaferrite (SrFe12O19) nanostructures using magnetic force microscopy (MFM) with nanoscale spatial resolution. The measured magnetic moments of the as-synthesized individual SrFe12O19 nanoplatelets are on the order of ~10(-16) emu. The MFM measurements further confirm that the magnetic moment of SrFe12O19 nanoplatelets increases with increasing thickness of the nanoplatelet. In addition, the magnetization directions of nanoplatelets can be identified by the contrast of MFM frequency shift. Moreover, MFM frequency imaging clearly reveals the tiny magnetic structures of a compacted SrFe12O19 pellet. This work demonstrates the mesoscopic investigation of the intrinsic magnetic properties of materials has a potential in development of new magnetic nanomaterials in electrical and medical applications.