Structural and magnetic characterization of Co-Cu nanoparticles prepared by arc-discharge

The structure and magnetic properties of the nanoparticles of immiscible system Co 20 Cu 80 prepared by means of arc-discharge, have been studied in detail. The diameters of the particles are about 20 ~ 30 nm and a core/shell structure forms. The cores are Co-Cu solutions, which show some small Co precipitates, encapsulated with a shell of cupper oxide or cobalt oxide as observed by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDS). The loop shift in the hysteresis loop indicates the existence of the exchange bias between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic components at low temperatures. A block temperature about 180 K has been observed for as-deposited nanoparticles. For the annealed nanoparticles, the thermal magnetization at low temperatures is satisfied with Bloch's law.