Aspects Concerning the Fabrication of Magnetorheological Fluids Containing High Magnetization FeCo Nanoparticles

Abstract

Recently, our collaborative work in the fabrication of a magnetorheological fluid (MRF) containing high magnetization FeCo nanoparticles (NPs, fabricated in our laboratories using the chemical reduction technique; MS = 212 Am2/kg) as magnetic fillers have resulted in a new MRF with superior performance up to 616.7 kA/m. The MRF had a yield stress value of 2729 Pa and good reversibility after a demagnetization process. This value competes with the best ones reported in the most recent literature. Nevertheless, the fabrication process of this type of fluid is not an easy task since there is a strong trend to the aggregation of the FeCo NPs due to the strong magnetic dipolar interaction among them. Thus, now we present the analysis of some aspects concerning the fabrication process of our FeCo NPs containing MRF, mainly the type of surfactant used to cover those NPs (oleic acid or aluminium stearate) and its concentration, and the procedure followed (mechanical and/or ultrasound stirring) to achieve a good dispersion of those magnetic fillers within the fluid.