Evidence of intrinsic ferromagnetic behavior of thiol capped Au nanoparticles based on μSR results

Abstract Ever since the first studies of magnetic Au nanoparticles (NPs) were published, few have been the element specific techniques or microscopic probes used to unequivocally determine the origin of their novel magnetic behavior. Here, we report muon spin relaxation (μSR) results of dodecanethiol capped Au NPs, showing the inherent signature of an ordered magnetic state. The particles have been synthesised by modification of the so-called Brust–Schiffrin method and characterized by means of TEM and SQUID magnetometry.