Polarised neutron investigation of iron composite nanoparticles

Iron nanoparticles obtained by the inert-gas condensation technique have been analysed by small-angle polarised neutron scattering. The use of polarised neutrons allows a more precise determination of the magnetic scattering length profile inside each particle giving information about the magnetic order. In iron nanoparticles surrounded by an oxide layer (core-shell structure), the magnetic scattering length profile indicates that the oxide layer is weakly magnetised. In the case of intermixing with copper nanoparticles, the nuclear contributions are well described by a bimodal size distribution.