Overview of Magnetic Nanomaterials

In this chapter, we present an overview of some widely explored magnetic nanomaterials in (i) metals and alloys, especially ferromagnetic metal Fe, Co, Ni, and their alloys with one another or with a noble metal; (ii) metal oxides such as Fe/Co/Ni/Mn oxides; (iii) metal carbides and nitrides; and (iv) rare earth-based permanent magnets. We describe the cutting edge protocols developed for synthesizing these magnetic nanomaterials. We also summarize some of the important techniques that are commonly used to characterize magnetic nanomaterials for understanding dimension- and structure-dependent nanomagnetism, including X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy (XMCD), Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM), Mössbauer spectroscopy, magnetic extended X-ray absorption fine structure (MEXAFS), magnetic force microscopy (MFM), and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID).