Macroscopic quantum tunneling in PdO nanoparticles

Abstract

We studied the physical behavior of PdO nanoparticles at low temperatures, which presents an unusual behavior clearly related to macroscopic quantum tunneling. The samples show a tetragonal single phase with P42/mmc space group. Most importantly, the particle size was estimated at about 5.07 nm. Appropriate techniques were used to determine the characteristic of these nanoparticles. The most important aspect of this study is the magnetic characterization performed at low temperatures. It shows a peak at 50 K in zero field cooling mode (ZFC) that corresponds to the Blocking temperature (T$_{B}$). These measurements in ZFC and field cooling (FC) indicates that the peak behavior is due to different relaxation times of the asymmetrical barriers when the electron changes from a metastable state to another. Below T$_{B}$ in FC mode, the magnetization decreases with temperature until 36 K; this temperature is the crossover temperature (T$_{Cr}$) related to the anisotropy of the barriers, indicative of macroscopic quantum tunneling.