Nanomagnetism in porous amorphous palladium, a sequel. A possible light-weight magnet

Abstract

Magnetism is a very relevant subject that permeates our everyday lives. However, magnetism keeps taking us from surprise to surprise which seems to indicate that it is a phenomenon not well understood. For example, we found that bulk amorphous palladium becomes magnetic; so, naturally one should ask, could defective palladium develop magnetism? In particular, would amorphous porous palladium become magnetic? Here we show that the answer to that question is affirmative, this defective topology of Pd is magnetic, with a magnetism that depends on the amount of sample porosity and on the topology of their structures. Clearly, if magnetism exists in porous amorphous palladium, this indicates the possibility of developing light-weight magnets, useful when a maximized magnetism/weight ratio is demanded, well suited for space and aeronautical applications.