Under the leadership of Professor Masashi SHIRAISHI of the Division of Advanced Electronics and Optical Science, Systems Innovation Department, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, and Shuhei TOYOKAWA in the 1st year of doctor's course in the same division, Specially Appointed Professor Eiichi TAMURA and Professor Yoshishige SUZUKI of the Division of Materials Physics, Materials Engineering Science Depatment, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, and Hirotaka SAKAI who completed his 1st year of a doctor's course in the same division in the 2010-2011 academic year, and Dr. HIROHATA Atsufumi , University of York, U.K., a group of researchers have discovered a new physical property of a fullerene.

Abstract

"A novel magnetoelectric effect is found to appear in a C ₆₀ -Co nanocomposite. Although Co is well-known as a ferromagnet, its nanoparticles embedded in a C ₆₀ matrix can exhibit multiferroic-like behavior, i.e., an electric field controls magnetic alignment of the nanoparticles and a magnetic field controls their charged states. This novel effect enables a strong magnetic switching effect for which the on/off ratio is ca. 10 ⁴ . Such an effect has been expected to exist and these findings show this magnetoelectric coupling for the first time."

• Shiraishi Lab
• Suzuki Lab
• University of York