Coexistence of Diamagnetism and Spin Polarization in Ag Nanoparticles

The existence of diamagnetic and ferromagnetic spin moment behaviors at nanoscale in Ag nanoparticles is reported. Ag nanoparticles were fabricated by thermal evaporation method and magnetization measurements were performed using a quantum design physical properties measurement system (PPMS). X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscope were used to characterize the sample quality and size distribution. Results show that magnetization measurements have revealed the coexistence of diamagnetism and spin polarization in Ag nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 2 nm. The temperature dependence of magnetization results suggested that Ag nanoparticles show a ferromagnetic moment obeying the Langevin function.