Structure and Magnetic Properties of Cr2O3/CrO2 Nanoparticles Prepared by Reactive Laser Ablation and Oxidation under High Pressure of Oxygen

$Cr_2O_3$ nanoparticles were prepared via one-step reactive laser ablation of Cr in oxygen. The metastable $CrO_2$ phase was obtained through the subsequent oxidation of $Cr_2O_3$ nanoparticles under $O_2$ with gas pressures of up to 40 MPa. The as-prepared $Cr_2O_3$ nanoparticles are spherical or rectangular in shape with sizes ranging from 20 nm to 50 nm. High oxygen pressure annealing is effective in producing meta-stable $CrO_2$ from as-dried $Cr_2O_3$ nanoparticles, and the $Cr_2O_3$ nanoparticles exhibit a weak ferromagnetic behavior with an exchange bias of up to 11 mT that can be ascribed to the interfacial exchange coupling between uncompensated surface spins and the antiferromagnetic core. The $Cr_2O_3/CrO_2$ nanoparticles exhibit an enhanced saturation magnetization and a reduced exchange bias with an increasing faction of $CrO_2$ due to the elimination of uncompensated surface spins over the $Cr_2O_3$ nanoparticles when exposed to a high pressure of $O_2$ and/or possible phase segregation that results in a smaller grain size for both $Cr_2O_3$ and $CrO_2$.