Ferromagnetism, hysteresis and enhanced heat dissipation in assemblies of superparamagnetic nanoparticles

Abstract

In this paper, we develop theoretical frameworks to explain the emergence of ferromagnetism in suspensions and agglomerates of superparamagnetic (SPM) nanoparticles. In the limit of strong anisotropy, the super moments can be treated as a collection of two-state Ising spins. When adequate in number, they interact via dipole-dipole coupling to produce a dipolar field and subsequently a permanent dipole moment. As a result, this effectual ferromagnet exhibits hysteresis on the application of an oscillating magnetic field yielding heat dissipation that is several orders of magnitude larger than in a paramagnet. Using our frameworks, we provide a design for a magnetite-blood suspension that yields heat dissipation in the mW range. Its important physical application is in remedial procedures for destroying tumor and cancer cells. We are also able to explain many experiments reporting manifestations of ferromagnetism in the form of hysteresis loops, return point memory and large heat dissipation in suspensions and aggregates of SPM nanoparticles. Our frameworks can be used to manipulate heat dissipation in variety of combinations of particles and their embedding mediums. They impart a basis to the often used ad-hoc methodologies in this subject.