Origin of magnetic moments in carbon nanofoam

A range of carbon nanofoam samples was prepared by using a high-repetition-rate laser ablation technique under various Ar pressures. Their magnetic properties were systematically investigated by dc magnetization measurements and continuous wave (cw) as well as pulsed EPR techniques. In all samples we found very large zero-field cooled-field-cooled thermal hysteresis in the susceptibility measurements extending up to room temperature. Zero-field cooled (ZFC) susceptibility measurements also display very complex behavior with a susceptibility maximum that strongly varies in temperature from sample to sample. Low-temperature magnetization curves indicate a saturation magnetization M-S approximate to 0.35 emu/g at 2 K and can be well fitted with a classical Langevin function. M-S is more than an order of magnitude larger than any possible iron impurity, proving that the observed magnetic phenomena are an intrinsic effect of the carbon nanofoam. Magnetization measurements are consistent with a spin-glass type ground state. The cusps in the ZFC susceptibility curves imply spin freezing temperatures that range from 50 K to the extremely high value of > 300 K. Further EPR measurements revealed three different centers that coexist in all samples, distinguished on the basis of g-factor and relaxation time. Their possible origin and the role in the magnetic phenomena are discussed.