Large-Scale and Selective Synthesis of Carbon Nanofiber Bundles, Curved Carbon Nanofibers and Helical Carbon Nanofibers.

Through the pyrolysis of acetylene at 250 °C, large quantities of carbon nanofiber bundles (CNFBs), curved carbon nanofibers (CCNFs) and helical carbon nanofibers (HCNFs) can be synthesized selectively by controlling the Fe:Cu molar ratio of Fe-Cu nanoparticles. In this study, the systematic experimental results indicated that the Cu content in the Fe-Cu nanoparticles and pyrolysis temperature had great impact on the yield and structure of the final samples. Moreover, the transmission electron microscopic observation indicated that the catalyst nanoparticles were enwrapped tightly by graphite layers, and the obtained HCNFs show good magnetic property. Compared to the methods reported in the literature, the approach described herein has the advantages of being simple, low-cost, and environment-friendly. It is suitable for the controllable and mass production of CNFBs, CCNFs and HCNFs.

Electric field modification of magnetism in Au/La2/3Ba1/3MnO3/Pt device.

The La2/3Ba1/3MnO3 film is deposited in a CMOS-compatible Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate with the oxygen pressure of 10 Pa for investigating magnetoelectric effect. Bipolar resistive switching effect with excellent endurance and retention is observed in this Au/La2/3Ba1/3MnO3/Pt device. Through this effect, a significant nonvolatile change of magnetization is obtained in this device as well. The change of magnetization can be understood by the break and repair of the -Mn(3+)-O(2-)-Mn(4+)- chains induced by the electric field through the oxygen vacancies migration. The resistance and magnetization of the Au/La2/3Ba1/3MnO3/Pt device can be simultaneously manipulated by the electric field, which makes it to be a promising candidate for the multifunctional memory devices.

Electric field manipulation of magnetic and transport properties in SrRuO3/Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 heterostructure.

The electric field manipulation of magnetic properties is currently of great interest for the opportunities provided in low-energy-consuming spintronics devices. Here, we report the effect of electric field on magnetic and transport properties of the ferromagnetic SrRuO(3) film which is epitaxially grown on Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-PbTiO(3) ferroelectric substrate. With the application of electric field on the substrate, the magnetization, Curie temperature and resistivity of SrRuO(3) are effectively modified. The mechanism of the electric field manipulation of these properties is ascribed to the rotations of RuO6 oxygen octahedra caused by the electric-field-induced strain, which changes the overlap and hybridization between the Ru 4d orbitals and O 2p orbitals, resulting in the modification of the magnetic and electronic properties.

Optical and magneto-optical anisotropies in large-area two-dimensional Co antidots film.

In this work, we investigate the plasmon-induced optical and magneto-optical anisotropies in the large-area square-ordered Co antidots film. It shows that both the outline of reflectivity spectrum and Kerr spectrum are significantly modified by surface plasmon polarition (SPP) resonances. Moreover, the magnitude of Kerr angle reaches to about 10 minutes at the azimuthal angle 45°, which is over 3 times of that of pure Co film. These phenomena are attributed to the SPP resonances with different diffraction orders of reciprocal lattice vectors.

Large magnetoelectric coupling in Co4Nb2O9.

Magnetoelectric materials which simultaneously exhibit electric polarization and magnetism have attracted more and more attention due to their novel physical properties and promising applications for next-generation devices. Exploring new materials with outstanding magnetoelectric performance, especially the manipulation of magnetization by electric field, is of great importance. Here, we demonstrate the cross-coupling between magnetic and electric orders in polycrystalline Co4Nb2O9, in which not only magnetic-field-induced electric polarization but also electric field control of magnetism is observed. These results reveal rich physical phenomenon and potential applications in this compound.

Magnetic nanoparticles with core/shell structures.

Magnetic nanoparticles with core/shell structures are an important class of functional materials, possessing unique magnetic properties due to their tailored dimensions and compositions. This paper reviews mainly our recent advances in the preparation and characterizations of core/shell structured magnetic materials, focusing in nonmagnetic, antiferromagnetic, or ferro/ferri-magnetic shell coated magnetic core particles. And some of the unique properties of core-shell materials and their self-assembly are presented. Shell layers are shown to serve various functions. A broad demonstration of the successful blend of these types of materials synthesis, microstructural evolution and control, new physics and novel applications that is central to research in this field is presented.

Bulrush-like double perovskite: synthesis, tunneling magnetoresistance, and magnetocaloric effects.

The recent observation of room temperature tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in half-metallic A2FeMoO6 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) double perovskites, and their importance to the emerging field of spintronics has led to considerable effort being dedicated to detailed investigations of the physical and chemical properties of these materials. This article will present an review of our recent investigations covering the synthesis, structures, magnetic and transport properties of "bulrush-like" A2FeMoO6 (A = Sr, Ba). Utilizing the high shape anisotropy as well as the reactivity of A2FeMoO6 to water and a sonochemical technique, we managed to manipulate the properties of grain boundary barriers, and thus put forward a new approach for the enhancement of room temperature TMR. The magnetocaloric effects of A2FeMoO6 double perovskites will also be discussed.

Large low-field magnetoresistance in nanocrystalline magnetite prepared by sol-gel method.

Nanocrystalline magnetite Fe3O4 samples with a grain size of about 40 nm have been synthesized by an optimized sol-gel method. The single phase of spinel magnetite was confirmed by both X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It has been found that the magnetoresistance of the samples at low field (LFMR) is relatively large, and with the decrease of temperature its value at a field of 0.5 T changes dramatically from -2.5% at 300 K to -17.0% at 55 K. With the further decrease of temperature a sharp drop occurs for the magnitude of the magnetoresistance (MR), regarded as a spin (cluster) glass transition in the surface region of the grains that can be confirmed by the zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization and ac susceptibility measurement. The mechanism of the magnetic and transport properties was discussed.

Preparation and characterization of straight and zigzag AlN nanowires.

Hexagonal single-crystal AlN nanowires with straight or zigzag morphologies were successfully synthesized by the reaction of aluminum alloy in an ammonia/nitrogen atmosphere at 1100 degrees C. It is found that the crystal tropism of the nanowires is along [0001], whereas the growth directions of the zigzag nanowires shift between [2111] and [2111].

Chemical synthesis and magnetic properties of well-coupled FePt/Fe composite nanotubes.

A simple two-step hydrogen reduction method was used to synthesize FePt/Fe composite nanotubes. As the first step, L1(0) FePt nanotubes were prepared by heating a porous alumina template loaded with an alcohol solution of a Fe chloride and Pt chloride mixture in flowing hydrogen at 670 degrees C. Then, FePt/Fe composite nanotubes were obtained by reducing the alcohol solution of the Fe chloride within the formed FePt nanotubes at a lower temperature, namely 470 degrees C. Through changing the concentrations of initial alcohol solutions, the FePt:Fe atomic ratios of the composite nanotubes were easily adjusted and the magnetic properties were tuned accordingly. For (FePt)(100-x)/Fe(x) composite nanotubes with x ranging between 0 and 26 at.%, the hard and soft phases were well coupled and the coercivity was tunable over a large range (1.27-2.73 T). Furthermore, the marked interdiffusion between Fe and FePt, which usually exists in FePt-based composites fabricated by using conventional methods, was not observed in the formed composite nanotubes. This indicates the two-step hydrogen reduction method to be a promising route for synthesizing nanocomposites which are difficult to fabricate by using conventional methods due to the interdiffusion between different phases.

Giant room-temperature magnetoresistance in polycrystalline Zn(0.41)Fe(2.59)O4 with alpha-Fe2O3 grain boundaries.

A tunneling-type magnetoresistance (MR) as large as 158% is observed at T = 300 K in a polycrystalline Zn0.41Fe2.59O4 sample, in which the Zn0.41Fe2.59O4 grains are separated by insulating alpha-Fe2O3 boundaries. The huge room-temperature MR is attributed to the high spin polarization of Zn(0.41)Fe(2.59)O4 grains and antiferromagnetic correlations between magnetic domains on both sides of the insulating alpha-Fe2O3 boundary. The MR exhibits strong temperature dependence below 100 K and its magnitude is enhanced to reach 1280% at 4.2 K, which may arise from the Coulomb blockade effect.