Colloidal Suspensions of Rodlike Nanocrystals and Magnetic Spheres under an External Magnetic Stimulus: Experiment and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Using experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, we explore magnetic field-induced phase transformations in suspensions of nonmagnetic rodlike and magnetic sphere-shaped particles. We experimentally demonstrate that an external uniform magnetic field causes the formation of small, stable clusters of magnetic particles that, in turn, induce and control the orientational order of the nonmagnetic subphase. Optical birefringence was studied as a function of the magnetic field and the volume fractions of each particle type. Steric transfer of the orientational order was investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations; the results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental observations. By reproducing the general experimental trends, the MD simulation offers a cohesive bottom-up interpretation of the physical behavior of such systems, and it can also be regarded as a guide for further experimental research.