Intra-well relaxation process in magnetic fluids subjected to strong polarising fields

Abstract

We report on the frequency and field dependent complex magnetic susceptibility measurements of a kerosene-based magnetic fluid with iron oxide nanoparticles, stabilized with oleic acid, in the frequency range 0.1–6 GHz and over the polarising field range of 0–168.4 kA/m. By increasing polarizing field, H, a subsidiary loss-peak clearly occurs in the vicinity of the ferromagnetic resonance peak, from which it remains distinct even in strong polarising fields of 168.4 kA/m. This is in contrast to other reported cases in which the intra-well relaxation process is manifested only as a shoulder of the resonance peak and which vanishes in polarising fields larger that 100 kA/m. The results of the XRD analysis connected to the anisotropy field results confirm that the investigated sample contains particles of magnetite and of the tetragonal phase of maghemite. Taking into account the characteristics of our sample, the theoretical analysis revealed that the intra-well relaxation process of the small particles of the tetragonal phase of maghemite may be responsible for the subsidiary loss peak of the investigated magnetic fluid.