Magnetic Heating of Fe-Co Ferrites: Experiments and Modeling.

Magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia uses magnetically-induced heat to kill cancer cells. In an alternating magnetic field, the induced heat depends strongly on particles' absorption properties. In order to achieve and maintain therapeutic temperatures inside a tumor and to minimize damage to normal tissues due to induced eddy currents, there is a need to develop new magnetic nanoparticles with improved heating characteristics. This paper investigates the magnetic heating properties of composite iron-cobalt ferrite nanoparticles Co x FeII1-x FeIII2O4 with 0≤x≤1. These composite materials are synthesized using a precipitation method. First, the Fe-Co nanoparticle synthesis is described, then their structure, size, magnetic and heating properties are measured and analyzed. The resulting nanoparticles were treated at temperatures 100-600°C in order to study any structural transformations and changes of physical properties. Finally, an empirical model is used to calculate both the nanoparticles' coercivity and their specific absorption rates for different Co concentrations.

A comparison of τ-MnAl particulates produced via different routes.

MnAl alloys are very promising rare-earth-free permanent magnets. Nanocrystalline microstructures can have beneficial effects on the properties of magnetic MnAl alloys. In the present work we examined multiple routes to process MnAl alloys and studied the effects of milling on Mn-46 at.% Al powders. Mn54Al46 was produced via gas atomization, melt spinning, and rapid solidification rate processing. It was then mechanically milled using a water-cooled Union Process attritor for times up to 20 h. X-ray diffraction patterns showed the presence of mostly the high-temperature ε-phase with significant amounts of the equilibrium γ2 and ß phases in both the cast and milled particulates. The powders were annealed for various temperatures and times in order to obtain the ferromagnetic τ-phase. Magnetic measurements of the optimally annealed powders showed a coercivity of 3.62 kOe and saturation magnetization of 59.8 emu g(-1) for mechanically milled gas-atomized powder annealed at 500 °C for 30 min.