Nano-sized Effect on the Magnetic Properties of Ag Clusters

We have prepared crystalline Ag nanoparticles with an average size of 4 nm in diameter by using an inductively coupled plasma reactor equipped with the liquid nitrogen cooling system. Our magnetic data show that the nano-sized effect of Ag nanoparticles on the magnetic properties is ferromagnetic, instead of a diamagnetic component of the Ag bulk and a superparamagnetic component of magnetic nanoparticles. We have also studied the magnetic properties of Ag-Cu nanocomposites with an opposite concentration profile between surface and core. These comparisons indicate that the ferromagnetic component strongly depends on the surface of Ag nanoparticles, while the paramagnetic component is strongly affected by the outer oxide layer, with the background of a diamagnetic component from the core of Ag.