Hierarchal
structures in magnetic fluids have been studied to ensure
the optimal utilization of these fluids, which exhibit both magnetism
and fluidity, in various engineering devices and biomedical applications.
In this study, magnetic fluids were prepared by dispersing monodispersed
magnetite particles with sizes of 10.0, 11.7, and 17.4 nm in kerosene.
Dark-field optical microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS)
experiments showed no results indicating destabilization of colloidal
dispersion in the absence of magnetic fields. Under magnetic fields,
the formation of a needle-shaped micrometer-scale condensed phase
was observed on the macroscopic level, irrespective of the differences
in the average diameter of the particles. Analyses of SAXS profiles
under magnetic fields revealed that loosely bundled chains of nanoparticles
were formed in the magnetic fluid containing particles with a size
of 17.4 nm, whereas other magnetic fluids lacked local spatial ordering
of nanoparticles. Thus, the results indicate that the microscopic
arrangements of nanoparticles inside a macroscopic structure vary
with size, despite the similarity exhibited in their outward form.
The results are discussed based on magnetostatic energy and interparticle
dipolar interactions. These different hierarchal structuring conditions
are key to fully exploiting the properties for each application; for
instance, an excellent design for magnetic fluid hyperthermia treatments
involves both the individual delivery of well-dispersed nanoparticles
as thermal seeds and cooperative magnetic heat generation of chained
nanoparticles under exposure to magnetic fields.