Microstructure of bidisperse ferrofluids in a thin layer

In this work we present a characterization of the bidisperse ferrofluid microstructures that appear in thin layers of ferrofluid. These layers have been studied by a combination of Langevin dynamics simulations and density functional theory. Our results allow us to compare the microstructures that exist in quasi-two-dimensional ferrofluid nanolayers with the microstructures found in three-dimensional bidisperse ferrofluids. Furthermore, our results allow us to explain the influence of the geometry of the sample on the topology and size-distribution of the observed aggregates of magnetic nanoparticles.     

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.     

Relaxation behavior measuring of transmitted light through ferrofluids film

In this paper, relaxation behavior of transmitted light through thin ferrofluid film under an applied magnetic field is measured. The results show that the intensity of transmitted light through a ferrofluid film increases quickly as soon as an external magnetic field is applied then weakens with time. If uniformity of the field is poor, the transmission of light continuously decreases in a measured duration. Otherwise, the transmission of light will tend increasingly towards a stable value after it decreases to a minimum value while the gradient of the field is low. The relaxation time would increase to an order of some hundreds seconds magnitude and is dependent on the strength of magnetic field and viscosity of the ferrofluids. The field-induced relaxation behaviors of transmitted light through ferrofluids correspond to anisotropic microstructure of the ferrofluids under applied magnetic field. PACS 75.50.Mm; 78.20.Ls     

Experimental investigation on the magneto-optic effects of ferrofluids via dynamic measurements

An experimental investigation on the origin of the magneto-optic effects of ferrofluids is presented. Dynamic measurements of their transverse and longitudinal magneto-optic effects and their magnetic properties have been performed. As ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions of magnetic particles in a liquid, the influence of two parameters has been studied: the magnetic anisotropy energy of particles and the carrier liquid viscosity for four ferrofluid samples. The interpretation and the comparison of results give some clues for a better understanding of magneto-optical effects of ferrofluids.     

Discrete particle size distribution in ferrofluids

We present a method to obtain stable discrete particle size distributions from the room temperature magnetization curves of ferrofluids. This method has been successfully applied to a hydrocarbon base magnetite ferrofluid.     

Transient magnetoviscosity of dilute ferrofluids

The magnetic field induced change in the viscosity of a ferrofluid, commonly known as the magnetoviscous effect and parameterized through the magnetoviscosity, is one of the most interesting and practically relevant aspects of ferrofluid phenomena. Although the steady state behavior of ferrofluids under conditions of applied constant magnetic fields has received considerable attention, comparatively little attention has been given to the transient response of the magnetoviscosity to changes in the applied magnetic field or rate of shear deformation. Such transient response can provide further insight into the dynamics of ferrofluids and find practical application in the design of devices that take advantage of the magnetoviscous effect and inevitably must deal with changes in the applied magnetic field and deformation. In this contribution Brownian dynamics simulations and a simple model based on the ferrohydrodynamics equations are applied to explore the dependence of the transient magnetoviscosity for two cases: (I) a ferrofluid in a constant shear flow wherein the magnetic field is suddenly turned on, and (II) a ferrofluid in a constant magnetic field wherein the shear flow is suddenly started. Both simulations and analysis show that the transient approach to a steady state magnetoviscosity can be either monotonic or oscillatory depending on the relative magnitudes of the applied magnetic field and shear rate.     

Anomalous Decay in Short Time Response of Ternary Mixtures with Ferrofluid

We study the optical transmittance of ternary mixtures of water, glycerin and ferrofluids. These mixtures are subject to pulsed magnetic field and placed between crossed polarizers. After the magnetic field is switched off, the decay process is compared with q-exponential, stretched exponential, Mittag–Leffler, and one-sided Lévy stable functions. For short time, the experimental results are interpreted in terms of stretched exponentials. The parameters of this non-exponential relaxation are investigated as functions of temperature and the water, glycerin and ferrofluid concentrations.     

磁性流体薄片高电压电流光学测量的研究

研究一种用磁性流体薄片对高压电流进行光学测量的电流传感器。设计原理基于磁性流体的光透射率随垂直磁场强度的变化而变化的关系。磁性流体受到垂直外磁场作用,原先无序的磁性颗粒将凝聚在一起形成条条磁链,从而引起磁性流体的光透射率的变化。采用磁性流体作为传感媒介设计的传感结构避免了基于法拉第效应的光磁式电流互感器对环境干扰敏感造成信噪比不高和传统的电磁式电流互感器的高压绝缘的缺陷。通过改变磁性流体的浓度和基液,或者改变传感头的结构,来达到实际需要的传感灵敏度和响应时间。     

Hydrodynamic Properties of Fe3O4 Kerosene-Based Ferrofluids with Narrow Particle Size Distribution

We investigate the hydrodynamic properties of Fe3O4 kerosene-based ferrofluids with narrow particle size distribution. The ferrofluids are synthesized by improving chemical coprecipitation technique. A narrow distribution of 8.6-10.8nm particle sizes is obtained from the magnetization curve with the free-form model based on the Bayesian inference theory. The fitting result is consistent with average particle size obtained from x-ray diffraction. With the increase of applied magnetic field and magnetic particle concentration, apparent viscosity of ferrofluids increases. At concentration 4.04%, the type of flow for the ferrofluid transforms from Newtonian to Bingham plastic fluid as the applied magnetic field increases.     

Electromagnetic ferrofluid-based energy harvester

This Letter investigates the use of ferrofluids for vibratory energy harvesting. In particular, an electromagnetic micro-power generator which utilizes the sloshing of a ferrofluid column in a seismically-excited tank is proposed to transform mechanical motions directly into electricity. Unlike traditional electromagnetic generators that implement a solid magnet, ferrofluids can easily conform to different shapes and respond to very small acceleration levels offering an untapped opportunity to design scalable energy harvesters. The feasibility of the proposed concept is demonstrated and its efficacy is discussed through several experimental studies.     

Magneto-dielectric properties of unpolar ferrofluids

The dielectric constant and the tangent of the loss angle for kerosene and transformer oil ferrofluids are determined. The dependence of the dielectric parameters is studied as a function of the electric field frequency, the ferrofluid magnetization as well as of the applied magnetic field direction.     

The use of colloidal ferrofluid as building blocks for nanostructured layer-by-layer films fabrication

The electrostatic layer-by-layer technique has been exploited as an useful strategy for fabrication of nanostructured thin films, in which specific properties can be controlled at the molecular level. Ferrofluids consist of a colloidal suspension of magnetic grains (with only a few nanometers of diameter) with present interesting physical properties and applications, ranging from telecommunication to drug delivery systems. In this article, we developed a new strategy to manipulate ferrofluids upon their immobilization in nanostructured layered films in conjunction with conventional polyelectrolytes using the layer-by-layer technique. We investigated the morphological, optical, and magnetic properties of the immobilized ferrofluid as a function of number of bilayers presented in the films. Ferrofluid/polyelectrolyte multilayers homogeneously covered the substrates surface, and the magnetic and optical properties of films exhibited a linear dependence on the number of bilayers adsorbed.     

Ferrofluids as thermal ratchets

Colloidal suspensions of ferromagnetic nanoparticles, so-called ferrofluids, are shown to be suitable systems to demonstrate and investigate thermal ratchet behavior: By rectifying thermal fluctuations, angular momentum is transferred to a resting ferrofluid from an oscillating magnetic field without net rotating component. Via viscous coupling the noise driven rotation of the microscopic ferromagnetic grains is transmitted to the carrier liquid to yield a macroscopic torque. For a simple setup we analyze the rotation of the ferrofluid theoretically and show that the results are compatible with the outcome of a simple demonstration experiment.     

Rotational viscosity in ferrofluids

We have measured the rotational viscosity _r of a concentrated ferrofluid by observing the increase of critical angular velocity in a Taylor cell with two different magnetic field configurations. The results are compared to theoretical calculations for diluted ferrofluids at different relative orientations of the field and the vorticity of the fluid. The observed deviations are attributed to breakdown of the theory for concentrated ferrofluids.     

Magnetoviscosity of concentrated ferrofluids

We investigated a concentrated hydrocarbon base magnetite ferrofluid (saturation magnetization 2.9·10⁴ A/m) and present experimental data for magnetization and magnetoviscosity. The results can be understood after some straightforward modifications of the standard theory of dilute ferrofluids.     

Magnetic Behaviour and Heating Effect of Fe3O4 Ferrofluids Composed of Monodisperse Nanoparticles

Fe3O4 ferrofluids containing monodisperse Fe3O4 nanoparticles with different diameters of 8, 12, 16 and 18nm are prepared by using high-temperature solution phase reaction. The particles have single crystal structures with narrow size distributions. At room temperature, the 8-nm ferrofluid shows superparamagnetic behaviour, whereas the others display hysteresis properties and the coercivity increases with the increasing particle size. The spin glass-like behaviour and cusps near 190K are observed on all ferrofluids according to the temperature variation of field-cooled （FC） and zero-field-cooled （ZFC） magnetization measurements. The cusps are found to be associated with the freezing point of the solvent. As a comparison, the ferrofluids are dried and the FC and ZFC magnetization curves of powdery samples are also investigated. It is found that the blocking temperatures for the powdery samples are higher than those for their corresponding ferrofluids. Moreover, the size dependent heating effect of the ferrofluids is also investigated in ac magnetic field with a frequency of 55 kHz and amplitude of 200 Oe.     

Yield stress in thin layers of ferrofluids

We present results of theoretical study of quasielastic behavior of ferrofluid filling a thin flat gap, placed into perpendicular magnetic field. When the field exceeds a certain critical magnitude, magnetic particles form dense discrete domains, elongated along the field, and linking the gap boundaries. Due to these bridges between the gap boundaries, the ferrofluid exhibits quasielastic properties with respect to shear strain in the plane of the gap. We estimated the elastic modules as well as the yield stress of the system, depending on magnetic field and concentration of magnetic particles in the ferrofluid. Analysis shows that there are at least two microscopical mechanisms of transition from the elastic to fluid behavior of the ferrofluid. The first one is connected with the loss of the mechanical equilibrium of the domains, slopped, under the shear stress, with respect to applied magnetic field. The second mechanism is connected with breakup of the “bridge” into two separate drops, when the shear strain exceeds some critical magnitude. Estimates show that for real ferrofluids the second mechanism is more probable.     

Polydispersity effects on the magnetization of diluted ferrofluids: a lognormal analysis

Based on a lognormal particle size distribution, this paper makes a model analysis on the polydispersity effects on the magnetization behaviour of diluted ferrofluids. Using a modified Langevin relationship for the lognormal dispersion, it first performs reduced calculations without material parameters. From the results, it is extrapolated that for the ferrofluid of lognormal polydispersion, in comparison with the corresponding monodispersion, the saturation magnetization is enhanced higher by the particle size distribution. It also indicates that in an equivalent magnetic field, the lognormally polydispersed ferrofluid is magnetically saturated faster than the corresponding monodispersion. Along the theoretical extrapolations, the polydispersity effects are evaluated for a typical ferrofluid of magnetite, with a dispersity of σ =0.20. The results indicate that the lognormal polydispersity leads to a slight increase of the saturation magnetization, but a noticeable increase of the speed to reach the saturation value in an equivalent magnetic field.     

Frequency-domain birefringence measurement of biological binding to magnetic nanoparticles

Optical detection of the frequency-dependent magnetic relaxation signal is used to monitor the binding of biological molecules to magnetic nanoparticles in a ferrofluid. Biological binding reactions cause changes in the magnetic relaxation signal due to an increase in the average hydrodynamic diameter of the nanoparticles. To allow the relaxation signal to be detected in dilute ferrofluids, measurements are made using a balanced photodetector, resulting in a 25 μV/√Hz noise floor, within 50% of the theoretical limit imposed by photon shot noise. Measurements of a ferrofluid composed of magnetite nanoparticles coated with anti-IgG antibodies show that the average hydrodynamic diameter increases from 115.2 to 125.4 nm after reaction with IgG.     

Extinction of polarized light in ferrofluids with different magnetic particle concentrations

The magnetic field intensity and nanoparticle concentration dependence of the polarized light extinction in a ferrofluid made of magnetite particles stabilized with technical grade oleic acid dispersed in transformer oil was experimentally investigated. The magnetically induced optical anisotropy, i.e. the dichroism divided by concentration, was found to decrease with increasing sample concentration from 2% to 8%. The magnetically induced change in the optical extinction of light polarized at 54.74° with respect to the magnetic field direction was found to be positive for the less concentrated sample (2%) and negative for the samples with 4% and 8% magnetic nanoparticle concentrations, the more negative the higher the concentration and field intensity. Based on the theoretically proven fact [11] that the particle orientation mechanism has no effect on the extinction of light polarized at 54.74° with respect to the field direction, we analyzed the experimental findings in the frames of the agglomeration and long-range pair correlations theories for the magnetically induced optical anisotropy in ferrofluids. We developed a theoretical model in the approximation of single scattering for the optical extinction coefficient of a ferrofluid with magnetically induced particle agglomeration. The model predicts the existence of a polarization independent component of the optical extinction coefficient that is experimentally measurable at 54.74° polarization angle. The change in the optical extinction of light polarized at 54.74° is positive if only the formation of straight n-particle chains is considered and may become negative in the hypothesis that the longer chains degenerate to more isotropic structures (polymer-like coils, globules or bundles of chains). The model for the influence on the light absorption of the long-range pair correlations, published elsewhere, predicts that the change in the optical extinction of light polarized at 54.74° is always negative, the more negative the higher the magnetic field intensity and particle concentration.