Synthesis and exchange bias effect of single-crystalline SrMn3O6-δ nanoribbons

Single-crystalline SrMn3O6-delta nanoribbons (width of 30-500 nm and lengths of up to several hundred micrometers) are synthesized by a molten-salt method. In contrast with the antiferromagnetism in bulk SrMn3O6-delta, magnetization measurements show weak ferromagnetism in these nanoribbons at low temperature. In particular, a notable exchange-bias effect, which strongly depends on the cooling field, is observed in applied magnetic field H <= 5 kOe. These results suggest that the exchange bias in the SrMn3O6-delta nanoribbons can be effectively tuned by the cooling field, which is of very special interests for applications.