X-ray absorption and diffraction studies of thin polymer/FePt nanoparticle assemblies

Polymer-mediated layer-by-layer deposition at room temperature was used to study assemblies of monodisperse 4 nm FePt nanoparticles. Vibrating sample magnetometry with fields up to 9 T was applied to study the magnetic properties of the particle assemblies as a function of annealing condition. Results showed that Fe in the as-deposited assemblies is partly oxidized and the oxidation is greatly reduced by annealing.