We are all familiar with the notion of ferromagnetic metal-based systems. Equally known, but far less common, is that of non-metals exhibiting ferromagnetic behavior. The mechanochemical reaction of either carbon or boron with LiBH4 has been found to make just such unique materials. Referred to as anionic element reagent complexes (AERCs), XPS analysis of the C(LiBH4)2 (C-AERC) and B(LiBH4)2 (B‑AERC) complexes show remarkable -0.8 and -1.8 eV reduction shifts in the 1s binding energies versus the elemental carbon and boron, respectively. Zero-field-cooled (ZFC)/field-cooled (FC) DC susceptibility measurements showed a strong irreversibility that persisted up to ~300 K. The ferromagnetic behavior was indicated also by hysteresis loop measurements. For example, in figure 1b the temperature dependence of the coercivity is shown for C-AERC, clearly ferromagnetic behavior up to 300 K. The mechanochemical combination of these diamagnetic materials (carbon or boron and LiBH4) is a new path to a unique family of ferromagnetic materials.Figure 1. a) zero-field-cooled (ZFC)/field-cooled (FC) DC susceptibility curves which demonstrate the ferromagnetic behavior for C(LiBH4)2. b) Temperature dependence of the coercivity (Hc) for C(LiBH4)2.

Ferromagnetic behavior in non-metal anionic element reagent complexes

249th National Meeting (2015)

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