Selective suppression of the higher harmonics of magnetization in a superparamagnetic system

The low-frequency dynamic magnetization of a superparamagnetic particle is studied. It is shown that selective suppression of higher harmonics in the spectrum of the system can occur with a variation in both the temperature (noise-induced resonance) and the excitation intensity (force-induced resonance).     

Limiting viscosity of ferromagnetic suspensions in a strong magnetic field

The effective viscosity of a suspension of ferromagnetic particles with anisotropy of the “easy-axis” type is calculated. The case considered is that in which the magnetic field in which the suspension is flowing greatly exceeds the internal anisotropy field, and the concept of the “frozen” magnetic moments of the particles is inapplicable. The relationship between the viscosity and the anisotropy field is established. The question as to the magnitude of the viscosity for an arbitrary ratio of the internal and external fields is discussed.     

Stochastic resonance in single-domain nanoparticles with cubic anisotropy

The signal-to-noise ratio for magnetic stochastic resonance in a superparamagnetic particle with cubic anisotropy is shown to be strongly dependent on the Larmor precession damping α. This phenomenon is due to the coupling of the relaxation and precession modes and can be used for measuring α. The dependence of the signal-to-noise ratio on α is characteristic of particles with nonaxial anisotropy; so the effect is absent in uniaxial particles.     

"Nanocasting": using SBA-15 silicas as hard templates to obtain ultrasmall monodispersed gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

This work describes the use of mesoporous SBA-15 silicas as hard templates for the size-controlled synthesis of oxide nanoparticles, with the pores acting as nanoscale reactors. This fundamental work is mainly aimed at understanding unresolved issues concerning the occurrence and size dependence of phase transitions in oxide nanocrystals. Aqueous solutions of Fe(NO3)3*9H2O are deposited inside the pores of SBA-15 silicas with mesopore diameters of 4.3, 6.6, and 9.5 nm. By calcination, the nitrate salt transforms into FeOx oxides. The XRD peaks of nanocrystals are broad and overlapping, resulting in ambiguities attributed to a given allotropic variety of Fe2O3 (alpha, epsilon, or gamma) or Fe3O4. The association of XRD, SAED, and Raman information is necessary to solve these ambiguities. The metastable gamma-Fe2O3 variety is selectively formed at low Fe/Si atomic ratio (ca. 0.20) and when a low calcination temperature is used (773 or 873 K followed by quenching to room temperature once the targeted temperature is reached). The small size dispersion of the patterned nanoparticles, suggested on a local scale by TEM, is confirmed statistically by magnetic measurements. The nanoparticles have a superparamagnetic behavior around room temperature. Their magnetic moments (from 220 to 370 mB), their sizes (from 4.0 to 4.8 nm), and their blocking temperatures (from 36 to 58 K) increase with the silica template mesopore diameter. Their magnetic properties are compared to those of standard gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles of similar size, obtained by coprecipitation in water and stabilized by a citrate coating.     

Magneto-orientational properties of ionically stabilized aqueous dispersions of Ni(OH)2 nanoplatelets

Magnetic and orientational behavior of nickel hydroxide nanoplatelets ionically stabilized in a liquid matrix is studied. Under an applied field the platelets orient their faces normal to its direction. For characterization of the individual behavior of dispersed and non-interacting particles three techniques are used: SAXS, SQUID and magneto-optics. Analysis reveals that nickel hydroxide in a platelet phase is paramagnetic with a pronounced anisotropy of the intrinsic susceptibility, the major component of which (in the direction normal to platelet face) exceeds the minor one by about 25%.     

Plasticity of soft magnetic elastomers

A simple rheological model is introduced to describe the plasticity in soft magnetic elastomers induced by an external field. In addition to the elasticity of the polymer matrix, the effect of dry friction (plasticity), which is provided by the rearrangement of the spatial structure of a dispersed magnetic subsystem in the course of the deformation of the material by a sufficiently strong field, is taken into account in the model. Model parameters are estimated from the reported experimental data on the deformation of cylindrical samples based on a soft silicon elastomer filled with quasispherical microparticles of carbonyl iron.     

Linear Orientational Magnetodynamics of a Ferrogel

The dynamics of magnetization is theoretically studied for a system of ferromagnetic nanoparticles suspended in a gel (a ferrogel). The Brownian motion impedes orientation of the particles determined by the elastic matrix. Therefore, the main parameter of the medium determining the static magnetic susceptibility value is the ratio of the modulus of elasticity of matrix to the temperature. The dispersion factors of dynamic susceptibility components include combinations of the velocities of several processes: elastic restoration of the orientation of particles, their rotational Brownian diffusion, and viscous relaxation of the inertial motion. The absorption of the energy of the alternating field in a ferrogel is found to be lower than in an isotropic magnetic suspension. The effect of the interaction of elastic and Brownian forces on the effective times of ferrogel magnetization relaxation is monitored.