Effect of high magnetic field on a quasi-3D silver dendrite growing system

Abstract

The Ag+/Cu liquid–solid redox reaction was investigated in a vertical and inhomogeneous high magnetic field (up to 15 T). According to a comparison between the morphologies of quasi-3D silver dendrites generated under different magnetic flux densities, the imposition of a high magnetic field strongly affected the aggregation process of the silver dendrites. The present experiment used four kinds of liquid–solid boundaries, which are affected by the reaction direction and solution condition, as bases for the diffusion limited aggregation (DLA)-like dendritic growth of silver deposition. Results are interpreted in terms of convections of the aqueous solution and a tentative quantitative analysis of forces acting on particles arising from the magnetic field. A new force is predicted theoretically and is discussed in detail.