Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles
Magnetite (Fe3O4) is an important magnetic mineral to Earth scientists, as it carries the dominant magnetic signature in rocks, and the understanding of its magnetic recording fidelity provides a critical tool in the field of palaeomagnetism. However, reliable interpretation of the recording fidelit...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Publishing Group
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34292/ |
| _version_ | 1848794818123137024 |
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| author | Almeida, Trevor P. Kasama, Takeshi Muxworthy, Adrian R. Williams, Wyn Nagy, Lesleis Hansen, Thomas W. Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. |
| author_facet | Almeida, Trevor P. Kasama, Takeshi Muxworthy, Adrian R. Williams, Wyn Nagy, Lesleis Hansen, Thomas W. Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. |
| author_sort | Almeida, Trevor P. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Magnetite (Fe3O4) is an important magnetic mineral to Earth scientists, as it carries the dominant magnetic signature in rocks, and the understanding of its magnetic recording fidelity provides a critical tool in the field of palaeomagnetism. However, reliable interpretation of the recording fidelity of Fe3O4 particles is greatly diminished over time by progressive oxidation to less magnetic iron oxides, such as maghemite (g-Fe2O3), with consequent alteration of remanent magnetization potentially having important geological significance. Here we use the complementary techniques of environmental transmission electron microscopy and off-axis electron holography to induce and visualize the effects of oxidation on the magnetization of individual nanoscale Fe3O4 particles as they transform towards g-Fe2O3. Magnetic induction maps demonstrate a change in both strength and direction of remanent magnetization within Fe3O4 particles in the size range dominant in rocks, confirming that oxidation can modify the original stored magnetic information. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:22:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-34292 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:22:14Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-342922020-05-04T16:56:06Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34292/ Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles Almeida, Trevor P. Kasama, Takeshi Muxworthy, Adrian R. Williams, Wyn Nagy, Lesleis Hansen, Thomas W. Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. Magnetite (Fe3O4) is an important magnetic mineral to Earth scientists, as it carries the dominant magnetic signature in rocks, and the understanding of its magnetic recording fidelity provides a critical tool in the field of palaeomagnetism. However, reliable interpretation of the recording fidelity of Fe3O4 particles is greatly diminished over time by progressive oxidation to less magnetic iron oxides, such as maghemite (g-Fe2O3), with consequent alteration of remanent magnetization potentially having important geological significance. Here we use the complementary techniques of environmental transmission electron microscopy and off-axis electron holography to induce and visualize the effects of oxidation on the magnetization of individual nanoscale Fe3O4 particles as they transform towards g-Fe2O3. Magnetic induction maps demonstrate a change in both strength and direction of remanent magnetization within Fe3O4 particles in the size range dominant in rocks, confirming that oxidation can modify the original stored magnetic information. Nature Publishing Group 2014-10-10 Article PeerReviewed Almeida, Trevor P., Kasama, Takeshi, Muxworthy, Adrian R., Williams, Wyn, Nagy, Lesleis, Hansen, Thomas W. and Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. (2014) Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles. Nature Communications, 5 (5154). pp. 1-6. ISSN 2041-1723 http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/141010/ncomms6154/full/ncomms6154.html doi:10.1038/ncomms6154 doi:10.1038/ncomms6154 |
| spellingShingle | Almeida, Trevor P. Kasama, Takeshi Muxworthy, Adrian R. Williams, Wyn Nagy, Lesleis Hansen, Thomas W. Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles |
| title | Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles |
| title_full | Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles |
| title_fullStr | Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles |
| title_short | Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles |
| title_sort | visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34292/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34292/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34292/ |