Magnetic properties of NiO nano particles: Contributions of the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic subsystems in different magnetic field ranges up to 250 kOe

The magnetic properties of antiferromagnetic NiO nanoparticles prepared by thermal decomposition of nickel hydroxocarbonate are investigated. According to the data of magnetization measurements in fields of up to 250 kOe, the magnetic moment linearly grows in strong fields, which is caused by the contribution of the antiferromagnetically ordered nanoparticle core, and the antiferromagnetic susceptibility corresponds to that of bulk polycrystalline NiO. This allowed the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic contributions to the total magnetic response of a sample to be quantitatively determined. The latter occurs due to the incomplete spin compensation in an antiferromagnetic nanoparticle caused by defects on its surface. It is demonstrated that to correctly determine the superparamagnetic blocking temperature, it is necessary to take into account the antiferromagnetic susceptibility of the particle core.