Charge transfer and weak bonding between molecular oxygen and graphene zigzag edges at low temperatures

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study of air-physisorbed defective carbon nano-onions evidences in favor of microwave assisted formation of weakly-bound paramagnetic complexes comprising negatively-charged O2- ions and edge carbon atoms carrying pi-electronic spins. These complexes being located on the graphene edges are stable at low temperatures but irreversibly dissociate at temperatures above 50-60 K. These EPR findings are justified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrating transfer of an electron from the zigzag edge of graphene-like material to oxygen molecule physisorbed on the graphene sheet edge. This charge transfer causes changing the spin state of the adsorbed oxygen molecule from S = 1 to S = 1/2 one. DFT calculations show significant changes of adsorption energy of oxygen molecule and robustness of the charge transfer to variations of the graphene-like substrate morphology (flat and corrugated mono- and bi-layered graphene) as well as edges passivation. The presence of H- and COOH- terminated edge carbon sites with such corrugated substrate morphology allows formation of ZE-O2- paramagnetic complexes characterized by small (<50 meV) binding energies and also explains their irreversible dissociation as revealed by EPR.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted in Carbon journa

Spin wave resonances in La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3} films: measurement of spin wave stiffness and anisotropy field

We studied magnetic field dependent microwave absorption in epitaxial La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ films using an X-band Bruker ESR spectrometer. By analyzing angular and temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic and spin-wave resonances we determine spin-wave stiffness and anisotropy field. The spin-wave stiffness as found from the spectrum of the standing spin-wave resonances in thin films is in fair agreement with the results of inelastic neutron scattering studies on a single crystal of the same composition [Vasiliu-Doloc et al., J. Appl. Phys. \textbf{83}, 7343 (1998)].Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures (now figure captions are included

Anomalous spin dynamics in charge ordered, 'two-electron' doped manganite Ca_0.9Ce_0.1MnO_3 : consequence of a spin-liquid phase?

The 'two-electron' doped rare earth mangnites Ca_1-x Ce_x MnO_3 (x = 0.1,0.2) are probed using resistivity, ac susceptibility and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements across their respective charge ordering (CO) temperatures T_CO = 173 K and 250 K. The EPR 'g' factor and intensity as well as the transport and magnetic behaviours of the two compositions are qualitatively similar and are as expected for CO systems. However, the EPR linewidth, reflective of the spin dynamics, for x = 0.1, shows a strongly anomalous temperature dependence, decreasing with decreasing temperature below T_CO in contrast with the sample with x = 0.2 and other CO systems. Keeping in view the evidence for magnetic frustration in the system, we propose that the anomalous temperature dependence of the linewidth is the signature of the occurrence of a disorder driven spin liquid phase, present along with charge ordering.Comment: 19 pages including 4 figure

Modification of the ground state in Sm-Sr manganites by oxygen isotope substitution

The effect of $^{16}$O $\to$ $^{18}$O isotope substitution on electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility of Sm$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$ manganites is analyzed. It is shown that the oxygen isotope substitution drastically affects the phase diagram at the crossover region between the ferromagnetic metal state and that of antiferromagnetic insulator (0.4 $< x <$ 0.6), and induces the metal-insulator transition at for $x$ = 0.475 and 0.5. The nature of antiferromagnetic insulator phase is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, RevTeX, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

High Temperature Treatment of Diamond Particles Toward Enhancement of Their Quantum Properties

Fluorescence of the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) center of diamond is sensitive to external electromagnetic fields, lattice strain, and temperature due to the unique triplet configuration of its spin states. Their use in particulate diamond allows for the possibility of localized sensing and magnetic-contrast-based differential imaging in complex environments with high fluorescent background. However, current methods of NV(-)production in diamond particles are accompanied by the formation of a large number of parasitic defects and lattice distortions resulting in deterioration of the NV(-)performance. Therefore, there are significant efforts to improve the quantum properties of diamond particles to advance the field. Recently it was shown that rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at temperatures much exceeding the standard temperatures used for NV(-)production can efficiently eliminate parasitic paramagnetic impurities and, as a result, by an order of magnitude improve the degree of hyperpolarization of(13)C via polarization transfer from optically polarized NV(-)centers in micron-sized particles. Here, we demonstrate that RTA also improves the maximum achievable magnetic modulation of NV(-)fluorescence in micron-sized diamond by about 4x over conventionally produced diamond particles endowed with NV-. This advancement can continue to bridge the pathway toward developing nano-sized diamond with improved qualities for quantum sensing and imaging