Magnetic Properties - Chemistry LibreTexts

Domains and Ferromagnetism

Introduction to antiferromagnetism
Ferromagnetism, antiferromagnetism and ferrimagnetism

Magnetic Moments:
- Magnetic moment is a vector quantity that is a measure of the strength and direction of
magnetism in a system.

Paramagnetism:
- Unpaired electrons in an atom cause fluctuating spin values hence the domains can easily
align with an external magnetic field.
- A substance will show greater paramagnetic properties if it has a high number of unpaired
electrons.
- Transition metal atoms are paramagnetic as they have unpaired d-orbital electrons.

Diamagnetism:
- Substances without any unpaired electrons in the atoms are diamagnetic as the spins of the
paired electrons cancel out.
- Diamagnetic substances are weakly repelled by a magnetic field.

Ferromagnetism:
- When the spins of neighboring atoms align (due to low temperatures/an external magnetic
field), they remain that way due to long-range forces.
- Examples of real-life uses and history of ferromagnetism include compasses and refrigerators.

Antiferromagnetism:
- When the spins of neighboring atoms anti-align.
- This leads to the substance having an almost net 0 magnetic moment

Ferrimagnetism:
- When the spins of neighboring atoms are anti-aligned and unequal.
- This leads to the substance having an intrinsic magnetic property because the net magnetic
moment is non-zero.
Atoms with random spins in a paramagnetic substance