Temperature-induced structural transitions in self-assembling magnetic nanocolloids
- Author(s)
- Sofia S. Kantorovich, Alexey O. Ivanov, Lorenzo Rovigatti, Jose M. Tavares, Francesco Sciortino
- Abstract
With the help of a unique combination of density functional theory and computer simulations, we discover two possible scenarios, depending on concentration, for the hierarchical self-assembly of magnetic nanoparticles on cooling. We show that typically considered low temperature clusters, i.e. defect-free chains and rings, merge into more complex branched structures through only three types of defects: four-way X junctions, three-way Y junctions and two-way Z junctions. Our accurate calculations reveal the predominance of weakly magnetically responsive rings cross-linked by X defects at the lowest temperatures. We thus provide a strategy to fine-tune magnetic and thermodynamic responses of magnetic nanocolloids to be used in medical and microfluidics applications.
- Organisation(s)
- Computational and Soft Matter Physics
- External organisation(s)
- Ural Federal University, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Sapienza University of Rome
- Journal
- Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
- Volume
- 17
- Pages
- 16601-16608
- No. of pages
- 8
- ISSN
- 1463-9076
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1039/c5cp01558h
- Publication date
- 2015
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103036 Theoretical physics, 103023 Polymer physics, 103017 Magnetism
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all), Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/temperatureinduced-structural-transitions-in-selfassembling-magnetic-nanocolloids(0bd3c2a3-8ba3-47c6-a37a-88e940715609).html