The diploma thesis of Lucie Motyčková deals with the fabrication and characterization of FeRh nanostructures and nanoparticles using solid-state self-assembly routes. The thesis comprises extensive experimental work such as sample growth, characterization via scanning probe microscopy, magnetometry, chemical etching, and magnetic separation of nano-objects from a liquid. Some findings are also supported via simple modeling. Importantly, she demonstrates that FeRh nanostructure arrays with controlled size and morphology can be successfully fabricated while preserving the phase transition. The nanostructures were also released from the substrates and their magnetic properties as self-standing nanoparticles investigated. Interesting phenomena on the magnetic behavior of nanoscale FeRh have been elucidated, and the work is also an antecedent for bottom-up nanostructure fabrication of phase transition materials. In this sense, the initial objectives of the thesis are largely fulfilled.
Ms. Motyčková demonstrated extraordinary motivation, perseverance, and hard work during her research work. Many of the explored routes were new, and she pioneered procedures that will be very useful in the future. I would like to highlight how she tackled nearly every challenge she was given by accomplishing subsequent tasks of incremental difficulty. During the working process, she developed an increasing sense of independence and intuition to find alternative solutions that would help to advance her research.
The thesis manuscript is well-written and contains a remarkably high-quality graphical layout. The presented activities and results are of a high scientific level, original, and relevant in the field of nanomagnetism. For all of the above, I think the diploma thesis deserves the highest mark, A.

The Master Thesis is clearly of an overall highest scientific level. The topic assigned has been tackled
by an impressive amount of work, covering all aspects from synthesis to physical/magnetic
characterization, supported by a not-less impressive range of techniques to bring complementary
contribution to scientific knowledge. This care of coverage and support explains that the results gathered
definitely bring new insights, although a significant number of investigations have been reported in two
decades on low-dimensional FeRh systems. The present work is original and at the state-of-the-art. As
a whole, the results are carefully extracted from the experimental data, with a suitable analysis and
subsequent modelling. Scientific care is taken to cross-correlate information arising from the various
techniques, to come to a single and consistent conclusion. As a minor comment, additional visualization
tools could have been used to highlight facets from AFM measurements, such as facet scripts in
Gwyddion (mentioned to be used for analysis); this may have allowed a more statistical view on the data
than simply a couple of cross-sections. Also, hysteresis loops of FeRh islands could have been
discussed more in depth, trying to consider the impact of shape anisotropy on both the saturation field
and remanence. All results and formulas are clearly introduced and explained, making the manuscript
a suitable reference for any subsequent work. The ordering of the manuscript is perfectly suitable, with
a relevant and balance sequence of state-of-the-art to results. Also, I appreciated very much the top
quality of the layout, typography and graphics, which are largely above the average of even PhD
manuscripts. The use of literature is rather extensive, relevant and useful. As a minor comment, the
early works on self-assembly (highlighting the history in the field) could have been included, as here the
first dewetting process is mentioned to date back only to 1990 (see Ref.32). Topics for thesis defence:

1. • P17: it is not clear to me why epitaxial misfit translates in an interfacial energy in the case of coherent interfaces. (comment on possible answer: I would tend to think that bulk strain energy does not influence the growth mode, unlike strain relaxation at the interface through misfit dislocations)
2. • Could you discuss more quantitatively the in-plane and out-of-plane VSM hysteresis loops of FeRh nanoparticles, taking into account shape anisotropy? Do you expect flux-closure states for in-plane and/or out-of-plane? Could you estimate the contribution of MC anisotropy after disentangling the loops from dipolar energy?
3. • In section 3.1 a detailed analysis and discussion is made, whether energy of facets should be considered for the FM or AF state. However, facets arise upon annealing for which only the crystallographic structure of the FM state should be present, no?