Microstructure analysis of monodisperse and bidisperse ferrofluid monolayers

Ferrofluid particles are known to self-assemble into a variety of
magnetic equilibrium structures which depend on several factors such
as: system geometry, magnetic interactions, particle polidispersity,
presence or absence of external fields, etc. The phase behaviour and
microstructure of ferrofluid systems in reduced dimensions is not
necessarilly equivalent to that of 3D systems. In order to investigate
the peculiarities brought by the 2D geometry into the aggregation
processes in ferrofluids, a combination of density functional
theory, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is presented. Long-range
dipolar interactions in our monolayer simulations are computed using a
recently developed dipolar-P3M-layer correction algorithm. In comparison
to the traditional Ewald sum methods, this approach allows to handle
larger systems. The mircrostructure formation and the behaviour of
monodisperse and bidisperse ferrofluid monolayers are studied
thoroughly, and a comparison between numerical simulations and DFT is
presented. The effects induced by the presence of external fields
applied to the ferrofluid monolayers are also reviewed.

To know more, visit http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~simbio/Ferrofluids