Metastable γ-FeNi nanostructures with tunable Curie temperature

We report on new metastable γ-FeNi nanoparticles produced by mechanical alloying of melt-spun ribbon using a high energy ball mill followed by a solution annealing treatment in the γ-phase region and water quenching in of the face-centered cubic γ-phase. In the Fe–Ni phase diagram there is a strong compositional dependence of the Curie temperature, Tc, on composition in the γ-phase. This work studies the stabilization of γ-phase nanostructures and the compositional tuning of Tc in Fe–Ni alloys which can have important ramifications on the self-regulated heating of magnetic nanoparticles in temperature ranges of interest for applications in polymer curing and cancer thermotherapies. To date we have achieved Curie temperatures as low as 120 °C by this method.