Abstract
The magnetic and electrical transport properties of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene)-capped Au nanoparticles (NPs) doped with iodine have been investigated to clarify the effectiveness of conductive polymer capping on the induction of ferromagnetism in Au. The room-temperature magnetization curve of the undoped polythiophene-capped Au NPs exhibits a clear hysteresis behavior with a coercive force of 160 Oe. The spontaneous magnetization normalized by the mass of Au is 2.0 × 10−2 emu/g. The spontaneous magnetization was found virtually unaffected by iodine doping, whereas the electrical conductivity is enhanced dramatically to ∼10 S/cm. Our results show that polythiophene capping could lead to spontaneous magnetic polarization in Au NPs, and the conductivity of the polymer capping does not affect the ferromagnetism of the Au nanoparticles, opening a possibility for further investigation into the magnetotransport behavior of ferromagnetic Au NPs.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
