Magnetic fluids under applied field studied by light scattering and microscopy

Abstract: The optical response of several magnetic nanoparticle dispersions is studied by angle resolved transmittance at wavelength of 600 nm in zero-field and under an applied magnetic field of 0.1 T, with the purpose of exploring to what extent this could be used as a method of monitoring the colloidal dispersions. In an external magnetic field, magnetic particles will start to order into needle-like structures aligned with the field, which was observed by microscopy. This will change the light scattering caused by the particles. Results showed a clear effect from applying the magnetic field by a dip in the transmitted intensity at angles around 3-5 degrees. The scattering is compared to that of a homogeneous infinite cylinder and theoretical explanations to the effect are discussed. Spectrophotometry at wavelengths between 300-1100 nm is performed and compared with calculations from Kubelka-Munk approximation to give a first characterization of the particle dispersions. Particles used in this project are magnetite, Fe3O4, and maghemite, gamma-Fe2O3, nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 5-250 nm.