Magnetic-Field Induced Diffraction Patterns from Ferrofluids

Ferrofluids are stable colloidal suspensions of superparamagnetic nanoparticles in a carrier liquid. We report studies of magneto-optic properties of two ferrofluid systems consisting of tetramethyl-ammonium-hydroxide (TMAH)-coated and of dextran-coated Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$ nanoparticles of nominal sizes of 6 nm and 12 nm respectively suspended in water. Both samples showed superparamagnetic behavior. The static and time-dependent DC-magnetic-field-induced light scattering patterns produced by two orthogonal He-Ne laser beams passing through the ferrofluid samples revealed significant different optical signatures for the two surfactants. Notably, in contrast to the linear diffraction pattern produced by TMAH-coated nanoparticles, a circular diffraction pattern is reported -- for the first time -- in the dextran-coated ferrofluid.