Tunable cobalt nanoparticle synthesis by intense pulse flash annealing

Abstract

Magnetically susceptible materials can serve as a basis for the directed assembly of nanoscale network devices which can be used to extract energy from phase change materials. So far, matrix production cost has been a prohibitive factor in the realization of real world applications. Here we report a cost-effective method to synthesize magnetic nanoparticles. Samples were fabricated by sputtering magnetic thin films on carbon nanotube substrates followed by xenon intense pulsed light flash annealing. The results indicate that spatially ordered magnetic spheres can be tuned by various parameters such as initial thin film thickness, xenon lamp exposure excitation energy, local surface geometries, and the presence of an external magnetic field during annealing.