Magnetic properties of Ni:SiO 2 nanocomposites synthesized by a modified sol-gel method

Ni nanoparticles embedded in an amorphous SiO2 matrix were produced by a modified sol–gel method. This method resulted in nanocomposites with a controlled size distribution and good dispersion of the metallic particles. The particle-size distributions were found to have an average radius of ∼3 nm, as inferred from transmission electron microscopy, X-ray-diffraction analysis, and magnetic measurements. Magnetic characterizations revealed that samples exhibit superparamagnetic behavior above the blocking temperature TB, 20 K≤TB≤40 K, and absence of a shift along the field axis on hysteresis loops measured at T≤TB, indicating that the metallic nanoparticles are also free from an oxide layer.