CRYSTALLIZATION OF

MAGNETIC COLLOIDAL
PARTICLES
ALINA-IOANA SUIU
YEAR 3
MSCI PHYSICS WITH NANOTECHNOLOGY

WHAT ARE COLLOIDAL PARTICLES?

PARTICLES THAT FLOAT IN A SOLID, LIQUID OR GAS MEDIUM, WHICH CAN BE
SUSPENDED IN AN IDENTICAL SUBSTANCE OR IN A DIFFERENT SUBSTANCE.
EXCEPTION: GAS PARTICLES CANNOT BE SUSPENDED IN ANOTHER GAS
MEASURE BETWEEN 10 AND 10000 ANGSTROMS WHEN PART OF COLLOIDAL
SOLUTIONS
APPLICATIONS OF COLLOIDAL SOLUTIONS INCLUDE: HAIRSPRAY, HAND
CREAM AND JELLY

AIMS OF THE EXPERIMENT

USE A MICROSCOPE TO OBSERVE BROWNIAN MOTION OF PARTICLES IN A
COLLOIDAL SUBSTANCE
ANALYSE THE EFFECT OF APPLYING AN EXTERNAL MAGNETIC FIELD ON
MAGNETIC COLLOIDAL PARTICLES
DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF ORDER OF PARTICLES AT DIFFERENT MAGNETIC
FIELDS
OBSERVE SAMPLES IN DIFFERENT MEDIA
UNDERSTAND THE PHYSICS BEHIND THESE TRANSITIONS

INTRODUCTION
PARTICLES SUSPENDED IN A FLUID HAVE A BROWNIAN MOTION
ACTIVE FLUIDS, SUCH AS COLLOIDAL SUBSTANCES, HAVE PROPERTIES NOT SEEN IN
REGULAR PASSIVE FLUIDS, ONE OF THEM BEING PATTERN FORMATION
IN THIS CASE, THE PATTERN FORMATION IS A CONSEQUENCE OF APPLYING A MAGNETIC
FIELD TO THE SAMPLE OF FERROMAGNETIC PARTICLES IN A NON-MAGNETIC FLUID
FERROMAGNETIC PARTICLES HAVE COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR
A COLLOIDAL CRYSTAL CAN DIFFRACT VISIBLE LIGHT. THE LATTICE CONSTANT OF THESE
COLLOIDAL CRYSTALS IS CLOSE TO THE WAVELENGTH OF VISIBLE LIGHT HENCE WHY THEY
CAN BE OBSERVED UNDER A MICROSCOPE AND ARE ALSO CALLED PHOTONIC CRYSTALS

EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
PREPARING THE SAMPLE

Figure 1: How to
prepare a
sample using
silicon wafers

EXPERIMANTAL METHOD
ANALYSING THE SAMPLES UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
TAKE PICTURES OF THE SAMPLES UNDER THE MICROSCOPE WHILE VARYING
THE MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE SAMPLE
THE MAGNETIC FIELD IS INCREASED BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF SMALL
TORROIDAL MAGNETS ACTING ON THE SAMPLE

ANALYSE THE IMAGES WITH IMAGEJ

TAKE THE FOURIER TRANSFORM OF EACH IMAGE
DETERMINE THE PARTICLE SEPARATION IN EACH IMAGE, CORRESPONDING TO THE
DEGREE OF ORDER IN THE CASE OF EACH MAGNETIC FIELD

AT A GLANCE:

FIGURE 2: DYNABEADS WITH NO

MAGNETIC FIELD APPLIED

Figure 3: Dynabeads with

magnetic field applied

 SOME MOLECULES BEHAVE AS MAGNETIC DIPOLES AND THE

AND ONE CAN CONTROL THE ALIGNMENT AND GROWTH OF
THESE CRYSTALS WITH A MAGNETIC FIELD
DYNABEADS ARE SUPERPARAMAGNETIC SPHERICAL PARTICLES
THAT RANGE BETWEEN 1 AND 5 MICROMETRES IN DIAMETER
THESE PARTICLES FORM LATTICES IN THE SAME WAY AS ATOMS
DO, SO BODY CENTRED CUBIC, FACE CENTRED CUBIC,
HEXAGONAL CLOSE-PACKED
EACH PARTICLE, WHEN MAGNETIZED, DEVELOPS A MAGNETIC
MOMENT
THE MAGNETIC MOMENT IS CALCULATED WHEN THE FIELD IS
BELOW SATURATION STRENGTH WHEN THE FIELD DOESNT
AFFECT THE MAGNETIC MOMENT ANYMORE

OBSERVING BROWNIAN MOTION OF

COLLOIDAL PARTICLES WITH NO EXTERNAL
MAGNETIC FIELD
BOTH DYNABEADS AND NON-MAGNETIC LATEX SPHERES WERE OBSERVED
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
THE MOTION OF THE PARTICLES WAS RANDOM IN BOTH CASES, AND SIMILAR
IN THE WAY THAT PARTICLES MOVE SIMILAR DISTANCES
THIS MEANS THAT WHEN PARTICLES ARE SUSPENDED IN A FLUID, THEY
BEHAVE THE SAME WAY REGARDLESS OF THEM BEING MAGNETIC OR NOT IF
NO MAGNETIC FIELD IS APPLIED
THE MOTION OF THE PARTICLES IN BOTH MATERIALS IS BROWNIAN MOTION

COLLOIDAL PARTICLES IN A MAGNETIC

FIELD PARALLEL TO THE SAMPLE SURFACE
AS THE MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH INCREASES, THE PARTICLES PAIR UP AND EVENTUALLY
FORM CHAINS, RESULTING INTO A MORE ORDERED STRUCTURE
WHEN CHANGING THE DIRECTION OF THE FIELD, THE ORIENTATION OF THE CHAINS CHANGES
WHEN THE EXTERNAL MAGNETIC FIELD INDUCES A MAGNETIC DIPOLE MOMENT IN THE
DYNABEADS (SUPERPARAMAGNETIC MATERIAL)
WHEN THE FIELD IS STRONG, THE PARTICLE WILL REACH A SATURATED MAGNETIC MOMENT
WHEN THE ENERGY OF THE INTERACTION IS BIG ENOUGH, IT OVERCOMES THERMAL
FLUCTUATIONS AND THE FORCE BETWEEN THE TWO PARTICLES, WHICH BEHAVE LIKE DIPOLES,
WILL DRIVE THE SELF-ASSEMBLY INTO THESE CHAIN STRUCTURES
THE ORIENTATION OF THESE CHAINS IS ALONG THE DIPOLE MOMENT

Figure 4: Dynabeads sample with no magnetic

field applied

Figure 5: Dynabeads sample with 4.8 mT

applied

Figure 6: Dynabeads sample with 6.6 mT

applied

Figure 7: Dynabeads sample with 7.8 mT

applied

Figure 8: Dynabeads sample with 8.8 mT

applied

Figure 9: Dynabeads sample with 9.3 mT

applied

Figure 10: Dynabeads sample with 8.8 mT

applied

Figure 11: Dynabeads sample with 10.4 mT

applied

Figure 12: Dynabeads sample with 9.1 mT applied

Figure 13: Dynabeads sample with 8.4 mT

applied

Figure 14: Dynabeads sample with 8.3 mT

applied

Figure 15: Dynabeads sample with 6.8 mT

applied

Figure 16: Dynabeads sample with 8 mT applied

Figure 17: Dynabeads sample with 6 mT

applied

FROM PIXELS TO MICROMETERS

A FOURIER TRANSFORM SAMPLES THE WHOLE IMAGE, CONVERTING IT INTO SPATIAL
FREQUENCIES
IT WILL SHOW THE PERIODIC REPEAT IN THE IMAGE IN THIS CASE, THE SEPARATION BETWEEN
PARTICLES
THIS HELPS IN DETERMINING THE DEGREE OF ORDER FOR PARTICLES IN THE DIFFERENT
MAGNETIC FIELDS
THE DISTANCE IN METERS CALCULATED FROM AN IMAGE WITH A GIVEN SCALE IS:
WHERE N IS THE NUMBER OF PIXELS FROM THE CENTRE OF THE FOURIER TRANSFORM AND IS THE
PIXEL LENGTH

Figure 18: Taking a

Fourier transform when
there is no field applied

Figure 19: Taking a

Fourier transform when
there is a 6.0 mT
magnetic field applied

Distance between particles

f(x) = 7.46 exp( 0.19 x )

Distance between particles

Linear (Distance between particles)
Exponential (Distance between particles)

Figure

Distance between particles

increases exponentially,
resulting in more ordered
chain-like structures
The degree of order increases
with the magnetic field
Errors in the accuracy of
Measuring the magnetic
field
Measuring the peak length
Not having a uniform
magnetic field

COLLOIDAL PARTICLES IN A FIELD

PERPENDICULAR TO THE SAMPLE SURFACE
AS THE FIELD IS INCREASED, THE PARTICLES ARE MOVING AWAY FROM EACH
OTHER, FORMING A MORE REGULAR LATTICE STRUCTURE
EVENTUALLY, THEY SHOULD FOR HEXAGONAL ARRAYS, WHICH ARE A RESULT
OF THE STRONG REPELLING ELASTIC INTERPARTICLE FORCE AND THE
ATTRACTIVE LATERAL CAPILLARY FORCE BETWEEN THE PARTICLES
WHILE, IN THIS CASE, NO CHAIN FORMATION OCCURS AND THE HEXAGONS
MIGHT BE TOO SMALL TO DISTINGUISH PROPERLY, IT CAN BE SEEN THAT THE
PARTICLE PATTERN BECOMES MORE REGULAR

No field applied

15.2 mT applied perpendicularly to the

sample
Figure 20: Change in pattern when a perpendicular field is applied

Figure 21: Fourier transforms in the case of no field applied and in the case of a 15.2 mT
field applied
The perpendicular magnetic field changes the particle separation from 7.49m to 13.0 m
(in this case being the cluster separation

OBSERVING THE DYNABEADS USING MICA

INSTEAD OF SILICON WAFERS
AS THE MICA SURFACE IS HYDROPHILIC, SO THE COLLOIDAL SUSPENSION
WILL INTERACT STRONGLY, FORMING A VERY THIN FILM
BECAUSE THE LIQUID EVAPORATES, A FLOW WILL BE GENERATED AT THE
BOUNDARY , CARRYING THE PARTICLES WITH IT
THIS WAY, THEY CAN BE SEEN MOVING TO THE EDGE, WHERE THEY GET
TRAPPED

No field applied

Perpendicular field applied

Figure 22: Dynabeads observed when mica is used instead of a silicon wafer when no field is
applied and when a perpendicular field is applie

CONCLUSIONS
COLLOIDS ARE IDEAL FOR USE IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING BECAUSE THEY CAN
BE OBSERVED UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
DISPERSIONS OF COLLOIDAL MAGNETIC PARTICLES CAN BE CAUSED BY APPLYING A
MAGNETIC FIELD TO THESE PARTICLES, RESULTING IN MORE ORDERED PATTERNS
A MAGNETIC FIELD PARALLEL TO THE SAMPLE WILL GENERATE CHAIN-LIKE
STRUCTURES, WHICH IS A CONSEQUENCE OF PARTICLES ACTING AS DIPOLES
A MAGNETIC FIELD NORMAL TO THE SAMPLE WILL GENERATE PSEUDO-HEXAGONAL
LATTICE STRUCTURES AS A RESULT OF REPULSIVE INTERPARTICLE FORCES AND
ATTRACTIVE CAPILLARY FORCE

REFERENCES
M. J. MIYAMA AND S. SASA, THE ORDER-DISORDER TRANSITION IN COLLOIDAL
SUSPENSIONS UNDER SHEAR FLOW, JOURNAL OF PHYSICS: CONDENSED
MATTER 20, 035104 (2008).
L. E. HELSETH AND T. M. FISCHER, CRYSTALLIZATION AND CHAIN FORMATION
IN LIQUID DROPS, PHYSICAL REVIEW E 68, 051403 (2003).
STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF SELF-ASSEMBLING COLLOIDAL MONOLAYERS
IN OSCILLATING MAGNETIC FIELDS, PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL,
NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS [1539-3755] KOSER, ALISON (2013)
88 : 6 P.062304