Size Effects on Magnetic Property and Crystal Structure of Mn3O4 Nanoparticles in Mesoporous Silica

Mn
₃
O
₄
nanoparticles with particle sizes of 7.8, 11.4, and 18.3 nm were synthesized in the pores of mesoporous silica, and their crystal structure and magnetic properties were investigated. The powder X-ray diffractions at room temperature indicated that the crystal structural symmetry was the same as that for bulk crystal, and the lattice constants deviated from those for bulk crystal, which depended on the particle size. In addition, compared with the bulk crystal, the Jahn-Teller distortion for the nanoparticles was suppressed and decreased with decreasing the particle size. The coercive field for 7.8 nm was rather smaller than those for 11.4 and 18.3 nm. The nanoparticles with 11.4 and 18.3 nm exhibited pronounced three kinds of magnetic transition temperatures, whereas the susceptibility for 7.8 nm indicated the existence of two transition temperatures. These experimental results suggested that the Mn
₃
O
₄
nanoparticles have a strong correlation between crystallographic structure and magnetic property, and the characteristic magnetic size effects are attributed to the reduction of Jahn-Teller distortion.