Role of nanoparticle shape on the critical size for quasi-uniform ordering: from spheres to cubes through superballs

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: López-Vázquez, Iago, Serantes, David, Iglesias, Òscar
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author López-Vázquez, Iago
Serantes, David
Iglesias, Òscar
author_facet López-Vázquez, Iago
Serantes, David
Iglesias, Òscar
contents The equilibrium states of single-domain magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) result from a subtle interplay between size, geometry, and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In this work, we present a micromagnetic study of shape-controlled magnetite NPs using the superball geometry, which provides a continuous interpolation between spheres and cubes. By isolating the influence of shape, we analyze the transition from quasi-uniform (single-domain) to vortex-like states as particle size increases, revealing critical sizes that depend on the superball exponent p. Our simulations show that faceted geometries promote the stabilization of vortex states at larger sizes, with marked distortions in the vortex core structure. The inclusion of cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy, representative of magnetite, further lowers the critical size and introduces preferential alignment along the [111] easy axes. For isotropic shapes, the critical size for this transition increases with p, ranging from ~49 nm for spheres to ~56 nm for cubes, in agreement with experimental trends. In contrast, the presence of slight particle elongation increases the critical size and induces another preferential alignment direction. These results demonstrate that even small deviations from sphericity or aspect ratio significantly alter the magnetic ordering and stability of equilibrium magnetic states.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_02838
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Role of nanoparticle shape on the critical size for quasi-uniform ordering: from spheres to cubes through superballs
López-Vázquez, Iago
Serantes, David
Iglesias, Òscar
Materials Science
The equilibrium states of single-domain magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) result from a subtle interplay between size, geometry, and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In this work, we present a micromagnetic study of shape-controlled magnetite NPs using the superball geometry, which provides a continuous interpolation between spheres and cubes. By isolating the influence of shape, we analyze the transition from quasi-uniform (single-domain) to vortex-like states as particle size increases, revealing critical sizes that depend on the superball exponent p. Our simulations show that faceted geometries promote the stabilization of vortex states at larger sizes, with marked distortions in the vortex core structure. The inclusion of cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy, representative of magnetite, further lowers the critical size and introduces preferential alignment along the [111] easy axes. For isotropic shapes, the critical size for this transition increases with p, ranging from ~49 nm for spheres to ~56 nm for cubes, in agreement with experimental trends. In contrast, the presence of slight particle elongation increases the critical size and induces another preferential alignment direction. These results demonstrate that even small deviations from sphericity or aspect ratio significantly alter the magnetic ordering and stability of equilibrium magnetic states.
title Role of nanoparticle shape on the critical size for quasi-uniform ordering: from spheres to cubes through superballs
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.02838