Magneto-viscosity of hydrothermal synthesized Cu-Zn ferrite ferrofluids

The paraffin based ferrofluids were synthesized using the oleic acid coated Cu-Zn ferrite (CZF) nanoparticles of compositions Cu0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 (CZF1) and Cu0.4Zn0.6Fe2O4 (CZF2) synthesized by hydrothermal process. The transmission electron micrographs (TEM) show the cubic shape particles of 4 to 10 nm and 4 to 18 nm size for CZF1 and CZF2 respectively. The nanoparticles show superparamagnetic behaviour. The viscosity increases with increase in magnetic field due to the formation of long chains of magnetic nanoparticles in ferrofluid. At higher flow rate, the magnetic chains break into smaller units and arrange along the flow direction. The flow curves show power law behavior. The size of magnetic nanoparticles influences the magneto-viscosity of the ferrofluids.