Influence of Electric Field on AC Magnetic Susceptibility of a Mineral Oil Based Ferrofluid

In a ferrofluid, the magnetic susceptibility at low magnetic fields is sensitive to the size and shape of magnetic nanoparticles and their concentration in a liquid carrier. In this paper we report on the AC magnetic susceptibility of a ferrofluid based on a mineral oil and iron oxide nanoparticles coated with oleic acid. As this type of ferrofluid is of increasing interest for electrical engineering applications, we investigate the effect of an external electric field and an electric current flowing through the ferrofluid on the AC magnetic susceptibility at ambient conditions. It is known that the action of the electric field on the oil based ferrofluids can result in the particle assembling. Then, the induced structural changes may affect the magnetic susceptibility of the bulk ferrofluid. In our experimental study we observed that the ferrofluid magnetic susceptibility decreases with increasing electric field. However, a heating effect with increasing electric field was observed too. Hence, it is concluded that besides the structural changes, the Joule heating has an obvious impact on the magnetic susceptibility of the ferrofluid in the external electric field.