Comparison of Ferromagnetic Materials: Past Work, Recent Trends, and Applications

Abstract

Despite our traditional concept-based understanding of ferromagnetism, an investigation of this phenomenon has revealed several other facts. Ferromagnetism was previously supposed to be exhibited by only a few elements. Subsequently, it was realized that specific elements with d- or f- orbitals demonstrated this phenomenon. When elements without these orbitals exhibited ferromagnetism, intrinsic origin-based and structural defect-based theories were introduced. At present, nonmagnetic oxides, hexaborides of alkaline-earth metals, carbon structures, and nonmetallic non-oxide compounds are gaining significant attention owing to their potential applications in spintronics, electronics, biomedicine, etc. Therefore, herein, previous work, recent trends, and the applications of these materials and studies based on relevant topics, ranging from the traditional understanding of ferromagnetism to the most recent two-element-based systems, are reviewed.