Research on Synthesis and Rheological Properties of Silicone Oil-based Ferrofluid with Dual Surfactants

Abstract

Ferrofluids as a new kind of nano-functional material, possessing both magnetism of solid material and fluidity of liquid material, thus, they have extensive scientific research and engineering application value. To avoid the defects of conventional non- or single silane coupling agent in silicone oil-based ferrofluid preparation, TEOS and KH-792 were introduced as surfactants to modify Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Silicone oil modified by carboxylic acid was used as based liquid because of improved compatibility with surfactants. Silicone oil-based ferrofluid was prepared by high-energy ball milling method, and its rheological properties were studied. The saturated magnetization of the silicon oil based ferrofluid was 142.71 Gs. When external magnetic field was applied, the MNPs formed a chain structure in the microscope. The viscosity of ferrofluid increased with magnetic field and the shear stress rose with shear rate. The viscosity decreased steeply with increasing temperature and shear rate. The viscosity of silicone oil-based ferrofluid was 950 mPa·s at 25 °C and can vary from 2044 mPaㆍs at 5 °C to 465 mPa·s at 40 °C. The ferrofluid transformed from a Newtonian fluid at zero magnetic field to a shear-thinning pseudoplastic Bingham fluid when an external magnetic field was applied. The viscosity varied from 1.37 to 2.38 × 10SUP5/SUP mPa·s at zero shear rate. While, when magnetic field varied from 0 kA/ rose to 160 kA/m, the viscosity increased obviously and this phenomenon became more pronounced as the shear rate decreased. When magnetic field intensity was higher than 64 kA/m, the viscosity increased slowly with increasing shear rates and viscosity curve was close to a straight line at 100 s-1. This study expands the idea of exploring the synthesis of ferrofluids with mixed surfactants. Silicone oil-based ferrofluid is expected to have unique application prospects in the aerospace field, especially in space damping, sealing and biomedicine.