Electronic and magnetic properties of ligand-free FePt nanoparticles

Ligand-free FePt nanoparticles are prepared in densely packed arrays (see Figure) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, in which oxygen and hydrogen plasmas are used to remove the organic shells that are present after particle synthesis. The electronic structure and magnetic properties of the bare, face-centered-cubic FePt particles are presented. Applications in high-density magnetic data recording are foreseen.