Research on the effect of different surfactants on fluidity of water-based magnetic fluid

In order to expand the range of applications of magnetic fluid, water-based magnetic fluid with different surfactants is synthesized and the property of fluidity has been intensively studied. Three kinds of surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate, oleic acid and polyethylene glycol) are used to synthesize three different magnetic fluids with the same magnetic nanoparticles and carrier liquid. Their microstructures and thermal stability of magnetic nanoparticles coated with different surfactants are characterized by transmission electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Results show that water-based magnetic fluid with sodium dodecyl sulfate agglomerates more obviously while magnetic fluid with polyethylene glycol keeps good dispersion. In addition, magnetic measurements reveal that all these magnetic fluids exhibit typical superparamagnetic behavior and the magnetic fluid using polyethylene glycol as surfactant maintains the specific saturation magnetization of ∼60 emu g−1. What is more, shear stress and viscosity of these three magnetic fluids are measured by the rotational rheometer. The shear stress increases with the increasing shear rate while the viscosity decreases with the increasing shear rate. This indicates that water-based magnetic fluid has the property of pseudo-plastic fluid. What is more, the viscosity of the magnetic fluid with polyethylene glycol as surfactant is lower than other two magnetic fluids and is prone to reach a steady state at a low shear rate in a short time.