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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Tuning the colloidal crystal structure of magnetic particles by external field
Antara Pal1, Vikash Malik, Le He
1Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for NanoMaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht (The Netherlands).
Abstract:
Manipulation of the self-assembly of magnetic colloidal particles by an externally applied magnetic field paves a way toward developing novel stimuli responsive photonic structures. Using microradian X-ray scattering technique we have investigated the different crystal structures exhibited by self-assembly of core-shell magnetite/silica nanoparticles. An external magnetic field was employed to tune the colloidal crystallization. We find that the equilibrium structure in absence of the field is random hexagonal close-packed (RHCP) one. External field drives the self-assembly toward a body-centered tetragonal (BCT) structure. Our findings are in good agreement with simulation results on the assembly of these particles.
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