Signature of the Kondo effect in superparamagnetic GO incorporated Cobalt substituted Ni/NiO nanoparticles

The study reports on the magnetization, magnetoresistance, and transport properties of superparamagnetic 10% Co-doped Ni/NiO (C10-NN), Graphene Oxide (GO) incorporated 10% Co-doped Ni/NiO (C10-NNG), and 15% Co-doped Ni/NiO (C15-NN) nanoparticles synthesized via a microwave-assisted sol-gel auto-combustion method. All samples show hysteresis in negative Magnetoresistance (M-R) at different temperatures. Resistivity ρ(T) versus temperature plots of samples C10-NN and C15-NN show metallic behavior with applied fields of 0, 1, 5, 8 T, and at 0 T, 1 T respectively. However, the plot of R-T of the C15-NN sample shows a significant difference at 0 T and 1 T. At 0 T for this sample, the metallic behavior is observed for temperature T > T_M, with the resistivity falling abruptly at and above T_M = 246 K. The resistivity decreases with increasing temperature, exhibiting metallic behavior again above T_MM < 276 K. This jump at 276 K, indicating a metal-to metal transition. The Kondo effect is observed for the first time in C10-NNG sample. The upturn of resistivity ρ(T) towards low temperature in the C10-NNG sample is well described by the power series equation and Kondo term. This sample exhibits the upturn resistivity along with a metal-insulator transition above and below the Kondo temperature T_K ≈ 93.51(2) K at the 0 T, 1 T, 5 T, and 8 T fields.