Diffusion and magnetotransport in ferrofluids containing chain-shaped aggregates

Abstract

The effect of chain structures on particle diffusion in nanodisperse ferrofluids subjected to external magnetic fields is studied. It is shown that the chain formation imparts very strong anisotropy to the diffusion properties of ferrofluids: the diffusion coefficient along a field appears to be approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that in the transverse direction. The presence of the chains changes the particle magnetophoresis coefficient significantly. © 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.