Field-induced pseudocrystalline ordering in concentrated ferrofluids

Concentrated surfactant stabilized cobalt ferrofluids up to 6 vol % Co have been studied by small-angle scattering using polarized neutrons and synchrotron x rays. The combination of these techniques allowed the magnetic and nuclear form factors to be reliably separated from the structure factors. Above 1 vol % Co, inter particle interactions are induced by an applied external magnetic field that gives rise to pseudocrystalline ordering of cobalt core-shell particles. Particles are arranged in hexagonal planes, with the magnetic moments aligned parallel to the [110] direction. Two types of equivalent textures were found to be present simultaneously, corresponding to a stacking of the hexagonal planes in horizontal and vertical direction. The in-plane nearest-neighbor distance is almost independent of the concentration and temperatures, whereas the distance between the neighboring planes, c, strongly varies from sample to sample. In addition, segments of chains of particles with parallel moments are aligned along the magnetic field and frozen-in when the carrier liquid is solidified. The field induced pseudocrystalline lamellar hexagonal particle arrangement, observed experimentally in colloidal magnetic liquids, confirms predictions from molecular-dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations.