Surface Ferromagnetism of FeO Nanoparticles Revealed by Operando Magnetoelectrochemical Measurements

In view of the long-standing controversy over the surface ferromagnetism of FeO, we propose to prepare its nanoparticles based on the lithium-battery reaction mechanism and carry out operando magnetometry measurements. This operando magnetoelectrochemical technology allows accurate magnetic detection of electrochemical synthesis products, effectively avoiding various intractable surface reactions during sample transmission processes. Due to the large surface area of nanosized FeO, the magnetometry mea-surements show strong ferromagnetism and a high Curie temperature of 754 K, which can be attributed to surface frustration and the surface-bulk exchange interaction. These critical results confirm the surface ferromagnetism of FeO and provide valuable insights toward the design of spintronic devices.