Unravelling the chemical dependence of spin disorder phenomena and interactions in Co-Mn mixed spinel ferrites nanoparticles

The main aim of this study is to investigate the chemical homogeneity and surface properties of manganese-cobalt mixed ferrite nanoparticles with different Co/Mn ratios but the same size and shape. We will determine the spatial distribution of the magnetization, identify the presence of magnetic disorder phenomena, and verify the occurrence of interparticle interactions by means of SANSPOL and SANS measurements. Thus, the extracted information will enable us to explain their magnetic behavior and to correlate it with their chemical composition, beyond size, shape, and capping effects. Overall, this study will uncover the connection between the chemical composition in Mn-substituted cobalt ferrites and their magnetic behavior, which is important to control their magnetic performance for their technological (magnetic recording) and biomedical/catalytic application (heat dissipation).