Abstract
We report the first direct observation of ferromagnetic spin polarization of Au nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 1.9 nm using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). Owing to the element selectivity of XMCD, only the gold magnetization is explored. Magnetization of gold atoms as estimated by XMCD shows a good agreement with results obtained by conventional magnetometry. This evidences intrinsic spin polarization in nanosized gold.
- Received 24 March 2004
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.116801
©2004 American Physical Society