Superantiferromagnetic EuTe nanoparticles: room temperature colloidal synthesis, structural characterization, and magnetic properties

Abstract

In this communication, EuTe nanoparticles with different size distributions have been synthesized for the first time at room temperature by injection of ethylene glycol solution of Na₂Te into ethylene glycol solution of EuCl₂ in the presence of triethanolamine. By adding phenanthroline into EuCl₂ solution, EuTe nanospindles have also been synthesized. The as-synthesized EuTe nanocrystals show size-dependent optical properties. Low-temperature magnetic measurements show that 6.5 nm EuTe nanoparticles show pronounced superantiferromagnetic transition between 2 K and 20 K. Our facile synthesis route opens up the opportunity of studying and applying this classical Heisenberg antiferromagnetic material in quantized-size range; our magnetic analysis indicates that the properties of EuTe can be tuned by the change of its diameter.