The temperature-controlled alignment of tiny crystals could help harness their collective properties for nanotechnology
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - 10:04
in Physics & Chemistry
The unique magnetic properties of cobalt phosphide nanowires stand them in good stead as future components of high-performance devices. Unlike bulk materials, these ultrasmall elongated crystals consist of single-domain structures that account for their superparamagnetism—a temperature-induced magnetism that arises in a magnetic field. To maintain and fully exploit this behavior, scientists must generate materials composed of precisely positioned and oriented building blocks. Such superstructures are now available, thanks to the development of a method that uses temperature changes to align individual nanowires. Ming-Yong Han from the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Sinapore, led the research.