Dispersion of submicron Ni particles into liquid gallium

In this paper a liquid gallium with a low melting temperature and good thermal conductivity was used as a carrier to develop a new magnetorheological (MR) fluid that can be employed in energy convection devices. Submicron nickel particles, coated with silica, were chosen to be dispersed in the liquid gallium. The silica coating was used to improve the dispersion and prepare the composite particles with a density similar to that of the carrier liquid, i.e., liquid gallium. The supercooling phenomenon of liquid gallium was analyzed to better understand the dispersion of particles. The magnetization behaviours of both the silica-coated nickel particles and the synthesized MR fluids were measured. The results showed that the silica-coated nickel particles exhibited a shell-type structure, and the composite particle with a density same as the one of liquid gallium can be obtained by controlling the thickness of the coating layer to approximately 22nm. The submicron nickel particles with the help of silica coating can be easily dispersed into liquid gallium. It was found that the supercooling of liquid gallium varied from 13.5 K to 19.3 K depending on the thickness of the coating layer of the dispersed particles. The saturation magnetization of the composite particles was reduced due to the occurrence of a non-magnetic silica layer.