PARAMAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SUPPORTED NICKEL

The magnetic susceptibility of silica-supported nickel was investigated at temperatures above the normal Curie temperature of nickel, i.e., at temperatures where nickel behaves as a paramagnetic rather than a ferromagnetic substance. The paramagnetic behavior of the supported nickel was found to be significantly different from that of bulk nickel and to depend on the concentration of nickel on the support. The results show that the paramagnetic Curie temperature and the paramagnetic magneton number of the nickel decrease as the degree of dispersion of the nickel is increased. It is concluded that the electronic structure of nickel is a function of its state of dispersion. The effect is observed when the metal particles become sufficiently small that significant fractions of the atoms are present in the surface. © 1968.