NAST-736

Nanomagnetic materials and devices

Ferrofluids
Course InstructorDr. A.K.Vishwanath
Associate Professor

Presented ByRosalin Beura

M.Tech 2nd yr

Contents
1.Introduction
2.Classifcation
Ionic ferrofluids(IFF)
Surfacted ferrofluids(SFF)
3.Stabilitiy of colloids
4.Properties
5.Synthesis
6.Applications

INTRODUCTION
A ferrofluid is a stable colloidal suspension of subdomain magnetic particles in a liquid carrier.
These colloidal are made of nanoscale ferromagnetic, or ferrimagnetic,
particles suspended in a carrier fluid (usually an organic solvent or H2O).
Each tiny particle is thoroughly coated with a surfactant to inhibit clumping.
It is a liquid which becomes strongly magnetized in the presence of a
magnetic field.
Ferrofluids usually do not retain magnetization in the absence of an
externally applied field and thus are often classified as
"superparamagnets" rather than ferromagnets.

Composition
The composition of a typical ferrofluid is about
5% magnetic solids,
10% surfactant &
85% carrier by volume.

Particles in ferrofluids are dispersed in a liquid, often using a

surfactant, and thus ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions
materials with properties of more than one state of matter.
Here the two states of matter are the solid metal and liquid it is in.
This ability to change phases with the application of a magnetic field
allows them to be used as seals, lubricants, and may open up
further applications in future nano electromechanical systems.

Liquid Carrier

100

Magnetic particle

Surfactant

Classification of ferrofluids
according to the coating

Ionic ferrofluids(IFF)
Surfacted ferrofluids(SFF)

Ionic ferrofluids
Nanoparticles are electrically charged to keep the colloidal
system stable.

Magnetic particles (usually maghemite, -Fe2O3, and different

ferrites, MFe2O4, where M = Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, Ni) are obtained
through a chemical precipitation method, and an acidalkaline reaction between particles and the bulk keeps the
surface of them electrically charged.

Usually, the liquid carrier is water, and the pH of the solution

varying from 2-12, depending on the sign of the surface charge
of the particles.

Acid IFF (pH < 7) have positively charged particles, and

alkaline IFF (pH > 7) have negatively charged particles.
The surface charge density of the particles, typically of the order
of 10 C/cm2 , is a function of the solutions pH.
They have steric and electrostatic repulsion to prevent
aggregation of the particles.

sketches of an acid (a) and alkaline

(b) ferrofluid grains are presented

Surfacted ferrofluids
Formed by magnetic particles (usually magnetite, Fe3O4)
coated with surfactant agents (amphiphilic molecules, as
oleic acid and aerosol sodium di-2 ethylhexylsulfosuccinate) in order to prevent their aggregation.
Steric repulsion between particles acts as a physical barrier
that keeps grains in the solution and stabilizes the colloid.

a) Single layered grain

b) Double layered grain

Stability of the colloid

The stability of the magnetic colloid depends on the thermal
contribution and on the balance between attractive (van der
Waals and dipole-dipole) and repulsive (steric and
electrostatic) interactions.
The typical particle numerical density in a magnetic colloid
is 1023 m-3.
To evaluate the typical particle diameter (D) to avoid
magnetic agglomeration we compare the thermal energy with
the dipole-dipole pair energy and get:
1
B
3
where kB- Boltzmanns constant
T-absolute temperature
2
- permeability of free space
0

72k T
D (
)
M

M- intensity of magnetization

1. Attractive interactions
Basically two main attractive interactions between magnetic particles in a
ferrofluid, the van der Waals-London and the dipole-dipole interactions.
The van der Waals-London interaction, UAw, between two spherical particles
of diameter D, separated by a distance r, is

A
2
2
4
[ 2
2 ln(
)]
2
6 4

U Aw

where = 2r/D
A - Hamaker constant ( 10-19J for ferrite particles) .
This is a short-range interaction and the attractive force increases with the
particles size.

The interaction energy between two magnetic dipoles, 1 and 2,

separated by a distance r, is given by:

U Ad
Where

0
r
r

[ 1.2 3( 1. )( 2 . )]
3
4r
r
r

is the relative position of the particles.

2.Repulsive interactions
In ionic ferrofluids, long-range electrostatic interactions
give rise to repulsive interactions, which guarantee colloidal
stability.
Whereas in surfacted ferrofluids, there are steric repulsion
forces, of short range nature.
In case of IFF the interaction between two electrically charged
spherical particles of diameter D, separated by a distance r is

UR

D 2

0 r

exp[ (r D)]

where 0 r 0is the surface charge density,

=0r is the electric permittivity of the fluid carrier,
0 - surface potential of the charged particle at
the Helmholtz plane.

Properties
Magnetically, a ferrofluid is perfectly soft.

Left- magnetization (M) lags behind changes in the applied

magnetic field (H).
When a magnetic field is applied to a ferrofluid, the magnetic
moments of the particles orient along the field lines almost
instantly.
When field removed particles randomise quickly.
Ferrofiuids belong to a class of materials defined as
superparamagnetic

Magnetic Characterizations

Ferrofluids are also characterized by their viscosity,

which can be varied in a controlled manner from less than 5
centipose (cp) to well over 25,000cp
Ferrofluids are strongly affected by an applied magnetic
field
Stick to Magnets
Takes 3-Dimensional Shape of a Magnetic Field
Change Density in Proportion to Magnetic Field Strength
Magnetic fluids have good thermal conductivity.
Ferrofluids are optically isotropic
but, in the presence of
an external magnetic field,
exhibit induced birefringence

Magnetic Field Dependent nMF(H)

1.4550

Refractive index, nMF

1.4500

L = 80 m

The nMF is increased

under a higher field.

10 m

1.4450

1.4400

Ms = 0.68 emu/g
dH/dt = 10 Oe/s
= 1.557 m

1.4350
0

30

60

90

120

150

H (Oe)

180

210

240

270

Synthesis
Two basic steps in creating a ferrofluid:
synthesis of the magnetic solid, magnetite (Fe3O4)
suspension in water with the aid of a surfactant.

The magnetic particles must be of order 10 nm in diameterso that the thermal energy of the particles overcomes the
magnetic interactions between particles.
If size too large, magnetic interactions will dominate and the
particles will agglomerate.

Precipitation reaction
The magnetite synthesized by mixing FeCl2 and FeCl3 with
ammonium hydroxide (an aqueous solution of ammonia, NH 3)
FeCl3 + FeCl2 + NH3 + H2O = Fe3O4 + NH4Cl
Surfactant - tetramethylammonium hydroxide (N(CH3)4OH )

Hydroxide (OH) ions formed in solution tend to bind to the

iron sites on the magnetite particles, creating a net negative
charge on each particle.
The positively-charged N(CH3)4+ will then associate with the
negatively-charged magnetite particles, forming a kind of
shell around each magnetite particle.

Stabillized suspension of ferrofluid

Tetramethylammonium
Cation (NH4+)

Electrostatic Repulsion

Hydroxide Anion (OH-)

Interaction of the hydroxide ions (red) with the magnetite and the interactions of the
tetramethylammonium cations (blue and grey) with the water serving as the medium prevent
the magnetite nanoparticles (black) from interacting with each other through electrostatic
repulsion.

Preparation of Magnetic Fluids

Water

H2O

mixing

FeCl2 & FeCl3

NH4OH

co-precipitate, Fe3O4
dextran

Fe3O4
Dextran

coating
centrifugal

gel filtration
chromatography
homogeneous water-based
Fe3O4 magnetic fluid

removing salt residue &

large particles
removing unbound dextran

Application
1. Technological Application
i. Dynamic Sealing
ii. Heat Dissipation
iii. Internal and Viscous damper
2. BioMaterial Research
i. Magnetic colloids used to dope liquid crystals
ii. Doping of lyotropic liquid crystals with magnetic
particles
3. Medical Application
Magnetic drug targeting
Contrast enhancement for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
4. Art

The fluids may be exposed to hostile gases, such as in

the semiconductor and laser industries;
to liquid sprays in machine tool and aircraft
industries;
to lubricant vapors in the computer industry;
to various adhesives in the speaker industry.
Furthermore, ferrofluids may be in contact with various
types of plastics and plating materials. The surface
morphology can also affect the behavior of the fluid. The
selection of ferrofluid is carefully engineered to meet
application requirements.

Applications

Applications
Sealing Devices
The Ferrofluidic's rotary shaft seal uses a magnetic liquid
barrier to produce a seal which has very low drag torque and
a leakage rate which is too low to be measured.

Ferrofluidic exclusion seals are used on computer disk

drive spindles. These seals exclude dirt, dust and bearing
lubricant vapor from the disk cavity thus eliminating "soft" and
"hard errors.

Applications

High-pressure
High-pressure
region

Sealing of magnetic fluids

MF

Low-pressure region

region
N

Magnets
Oil

Magnetic fluid

Applications

Heat transfer

An external magnetic field imposed on a ferrofluid with

varying susceptibility (e.g., because of a temperature
gradient) results in a nonuniform magnetic body force,
which leads to a form of heat transfer called
thermomagnetic convection.
Ferrofluids are commonly used in loudspeakers to
remove heat from the voice coil, and to passively damp the
movement of the cone.

Inertia Dampers

Applications

Ferrofluids are used in dampers that enhance performance of

stepper motors.

Applications

Medicine
In medicine, ferrofluids are used as contrast agents for
magnetic resonance imaging and can be used for cancer
detection. The ferrofluids are in this case composed of iron
oxide nanoparticles and called SPION, for
"Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles.
The magnetic properties of the ferrofluids have resulted in the
development of systems which allow selective separation
of viruses, bacteria, concentration of therapeutic agents
at specific body sites; incorporation of magnetic particles into
preformed biologically active polymer gels allow use as
supports for affinity chromotography.

Art

REFEREnces
1. Ferrofluids- Properties andApplications
K Raj & R J Boulton,
2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrofluid
3. www.ferrotec.com/technology/ferrofluid
4. Ferrofluids: Properties and Applications
C. Scherer and A. M. Figueiredo Neto
5. Synthesis of an Aqueous-Based Ferrofluid