Investigating magnetic nanoparticles by small-angle neutron scattering

by Dr Philipp Bender (University of Luxembourg)

Monday 25 Nov 2019, 14:30 → 15:30 Europe/Berlin

PH HS 3 (Physics Department)

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have fascinating properties and offer unique potential for various technological and biomedical applications. Their applicability is usually defined by the magnetic properties of the whole ensemble. But to understand the magnetism on the macroscopic level one needs to go down to the nanoscale and access the magnetic properties of the individual MNPs, which critically depend on their structure and interactions. To fully describe the complex interplay between the structural and magnetic properties of MNP ensembles it becomes necessary to resolve their three-dimensional (3D) magnetization profile on the mesoscale. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) probes the nuclear and magnetic scattering profile on the mesoscopic length scale and is thus, in principle, the ideal tool to investigate MNP ensembles. In this talk, I will present recent examples where we applied SANS for particle characterization and discuss future challenges.