The exploration of exchange bias (EB) on the nanoscale provides a novel approach to improving the anisotropic properties of magnetic nanoparticles for prospective applications in nanospintronics and nanomedicine. However, the physical origin of EB is not fully understood. Recent advances in chemical synthesis provide a unique opportunity to explore EB in a variety of iron oxide-based nanostructures ranging from core/shell to hollow and hybrid composite nanoparticles. Experimental and atomistic Monte Carlo studies have shed light on the roles of interface and surface spins in these nanosystems. This review paper aims to provide a thorough understanding of the EB and related phenomena in iron oxide-based nanoparticle systems, knowledge of which is essential to tune the anisotropic magnetic properties of exchange-coupled nanoparticle systems for potential applications.

Multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully synthesized using custom-made 80 nm pore-size alumina templates, and were uniformly filled with nickel ferrite (NFO) nanoparticles of 7.4 ± 1.7 nm diameter using a novel magnetically assisted capillary action method. X-ray diffraction confirmed the inverse spinel phase for the synthesized NFO. Transmission electron microscopy confirms spherical NFO nanoparticles with an average diameter of 7.4 nm inside MWCNTs. Magnetometry indicates that both NFO and NFO-filled MWCNTs present a blocking temperature around 52 K, with similar superparamagnetic-like behavior, and weak dipolar interactions, giving rise to a super-spin-glass-like behavior at low temperatures. These properties along with the uniformity of sub-100 nm structures and the possibility of tunable magnetic response in variable diameter carbon nanotubes make them ideal for advanced biomedical and microwave applications.

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The micromanipulation of biological samples is important for microbiology, pharmaceutical science, and related bioengineering fields. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of surface-attached microbeam arrays of 20 μm width and 25 μm height made of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), a thermoresponsive polymer, with embedded spherical or octopod FeO nanoparticles. Below 32 °C, the microbeams imbibe water and buckle with an amplitude of approximately 20 μm. Turning on an AC-magnetic field induces the microbeam array to expel water due to the heating effect of the nanoparticles (magnetic hyperthermia), leading to a reversible transition from a buckled to nonbuckled state. It is observed that the octopod nanoparticles have a heating rate 30% greater (specific absorption rate, SAR) than that of the spherical nanoparticles, which shortens the time scale of the transition from the buckled and nonbuckled state. The return of the microbeams to the buckled state is accomplished by turning off the AC magnetic field, the rate of which is dictated by dissipation of heat and is independent of the type of nanoparticle. It is further demonstrated that this transition can be used to propel 50 μm spherical objects along a surface. While the motion is random, this study shows the promise of harnessing shape-shifting patterns in microfluidics for object manipulation.

maximum 250 words) Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibiting superparamagnetic properties might generate large magnetic dipole-dipole interaction with electron spins in organic semiconductors (OSECs). This concept could be considered analogous to the effect of hyperfine interaction (HFI). In order to investigate this model, Fe3O4 MNPs are used as a dopant for generating random hyperfine-like magnetic fields in a HFI-dominant π-conjugated polymer host, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) (MeH-PPV). The magnetoconductance (MC) response in organic light emitting diodes made by MeH-PPV/MNP blends is used to estimate the effective hyperfine field in the blends. Firstly, we find that the shape of the MC response essentially remains the same regardless of the MNP concentration, which is attributed to the similar functionality between the nuclear spins and magnetic moments of the MNPs. Secondly, the width of the MC response increases with increasing MNP concentration. Magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) experiments and micromagnetic simulation indicate that the additional increase of the MC width is associated with the magnetization of the blend. Finally, the MC broadening has the same temperature dependent trend as the magnetization of the MNPs where the unique effect of the MNPs in their superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic regimes on the MC response is observed. Magneto-photoinduced absorption (MPA) spectroscopy confirms that the MC broadening is not due to defects introduced by the MNPs but a result of their unique superparamagnetic behavior. Our study yields a new pathway for tuning OSECs' magnetic functionality, which is essential for organic optoelectronic devices and magnetic sensor applications.Keywords: organic semiconductor, magnetic nanoparticle, magnetic field effect, hyperfine interaction, coherent spin mixing rate.Recently, there has been interest in coherent spin manipulation via controlling of the HFI by several state-of-the-art methods, including isotope exchange with different nuclear spins and pulsed electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy. 13-15, 30, 35-38 The former method chemically replaces particular atoms in the molecule by atoms with different nuclear spins. [13][14][35][36][37] In conventional conducting polymers, the presence of new isotopes, e.g. 2 H and 13 C, significantly