Towards ferrofluids with enhanced magnetization

It is well known that the saturation magnetization of a sterically stabilized magnetic fluid (ferrofluid) is limited by the presence of a surfactant coating on the surface, and in some cases, by an effectively demagnetized surface layer in the solid magnetic particle. These surface layers take up a disproportionate volume in the colloidal dispersion thereby severely limiting the volume fraction of the core magnetic substance. This work proposes and analyzes Janus particles having the objective of increasing the magnetic loading beyond the present day constraints. Using numerical computation of the virial coefficient it is calculated that the magnetic volume fraction of magnetite ferrofluids might be increased by a factor approaching 2 and that of iron-based ferrofluids by a factor of 3.     

Bénard-Marangoni ferroconvection with magnetic field dependent viscosity

The effect of magnetic field dependent viscosity on the onset of Bénard-Marangoni ferroconvection in a horizontal layer of ferrofluid is investigated theoretically. The lower boundary is taken to be rigid with fixed temperature, while the upper free boundary at which temperature-dependent surface tension effect is considered is non-deformable and subject to a general thermal condition. The Rayleigh-Ritz method with Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind as trial functions is employed to extract the critical stability parameters numerically. The results show that the onset of ferroconvection is delayed with an increase in the magnetic field dependent viscosity parameter (Λ) and Biot number (Bi) but opposite is the case with an increase in the value of magnetic Rayleigh number (R_m) and nonlinearity of magnetization (M₃). Further, increase in R_m, M₃, and decrease in Λ and Bi is to decrease the size of the convection cells.