A general strategy for one-step fabrication of one-dimensional magnetic nanoparticle chains based on laser ablation in liquid

Assembly of one-dimensional (1D) magnetic nanoparticle (NP) chains is attractive due to considerable technical demand in new materials and devices. Conventional assemblies are usually divided into two steps: one is the synthesis of NPs and the other is the fabrication of 1D NP chains. Here, we demonstrate a general strategy for fabricating 1D magnetic NP chains within one step, i.e. the magnetic field assisted laser ablation in liquid (MF-LAL), which combines NPs' synthesis and 1D chains' fabrication within one step. This is a green and facile LAL-based approach. Using this technique, we assemble 1D chains of submicron cobalt carbide spheres, which are ferromagnetic with anomalous giant magnetizations of 232 emu g−1 at room temperature, the highest reported so far for cobalt-based magnetic nanomaterials. The blocking temperature of the chains is more than 300 K, which is ascribed to the anisotropy of the configuration. We establish a theoretical model to pursue the fabrication of 1D magnetic NP chains, in which the basic physics and chemistry involved in the MF-LAL fabrication are discussed. These findings can guide researchers choosing interesting target and liquid for the assembly of 1D magnetic NP chains for the purpose of fundamental research and potential applications.