The magnetic moments in Ni/Pt multilayers are thoroughly studied by combining experimental and ab initio theoretical techniques. SQUID magnetometry probes the samples' magnetizations. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism separates the contribution of Ni and Pt and provides a layer-resolved magnetic moment profile for the whole system. The results are compared to band-structure calculations. Induced Pt magnetic moments localized mostly at the interface are revealed. No magnetically "dead" Ni layers are found. The magnetization per Ni volume is slightly enhanced compared to bulk NiPt alloys.

Hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Ni particles were prepared in the nanosize range (13–25 nm) by reduction of Ni(NO3)2 in polyethylene glycol (PEG) with various molecular weights. The reaction occurred in the presence of an equimolecular mixture of oleic acid and oleyl amine, which plays the role of a stabilizer and gives solubility to the nanoparticles in non-polar solvents. The crystal structure of Ni particles seems to be controlled by the molecular weight of the PEG molecule and subsequently the reaction temperature. The magnetic properties of the hcp Ni nanoparticles are also studied.

Cobalt platinum polypod-like nanostructures were synthesized by thermolytic reduction of Pt(acac)2 and Co(CH3COO)2 in oleylamine at 250 degrees C. The as-made CoPt nanopolypods are ferromagnetic, are soluble in nonpolar organic solvents, and reveal a coercive field of 525 and 1200 Oe at room temperature and 5 K, respectively.

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Rare earth free alloys are in focus of permanent magnet research since the accessibility of the elements needed for nowadays conventional magnets is limited. Tetragonally strained iron-cobalt (Fe-Co) has attracted large interest as promising candidate due to theoretical calculations. In experiments, however, the applied strain quickly relaxes with increasing film thickness and hampers stabilization of a strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In our study we show that already 2 at% of carbon substantially reduce the lattice relaxation leading to the formation of a spontaneously strained phase with 3 % tetragonal distortion. In these strained (Fe 0.4 Co 0.6 ) 0.98 C 0.02 films, a magnetocrystalline anisotropy above 0.4 MJ/m 3 is observed while the large polarization of 2.1 T is maintained. Compared to binary Fe-Co this is a remarkable improvement of the intrinsic magnetic properties. In this paper, we relate our experimental work to theoretical studies of strained Fe-Co-C and find a very good agreement.

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