Showing papers by "Julian Carrey published in 2021"

Time-dependent AC magnetometry and chain formation in magnetite: the influence of particle size, initial temperature and the shortening of the relaxation time by the applied field

Abstract: Magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) with 12, 34 and 53 nm sizes have been measured by AC-magnetometry at 50 kHz and 57 mT maximum applied field. The MNPs form chains under the AC-field, and the dynamics of the formation can be studied by measuring hysteresis cycles at different times. The measurement time has been varied from 5 ms to 10 s and for different initial temperatures of 5, 25 and 50 °C. The chain formation, identified by the increase of susceptibility and remanence with the measurement time, appears only for 34 nm particles. It has been observed that saturation, remanence and susceptibility at low (high) fields increase (decrease) with time. For the other two samples, these magnitudes are independent of time. At low fields, the heating efficiency is higher at 5 °C than at 50 °C, whereas it shows an opposite behaviour at higher fields; the origin of this behaviour is discussed in the article. Additionally, the relaxation times, τN and τB, have been calculated by considering the influence of the applied field. Chain formation requires translation and rotation of MNPs; therefore, the Brownian mechanism plays a fundamental role. It is found that magnetic reversal for 12 nm MNPs is mainly due to Neel relaxation. However, in the case of 34 nm MNPs, both mechanisms, Neel and Brownian relaxation, can be present depending on the amplitude of the field; for μ0H 22 mT, both mechanisms are present within the size distribution. This highlights the importance of taking the field intensity into account to calculate relaxation times when analysing the relaxation mechanisms of magnetic colloids subjected to AC fields.

Probing dynamics of nanoparticle chains formation during magnetic hyperthermia using time-dependent high-frequency hysteresis loops

Abstract: The heating power of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) submitted to high-frequency magnetic fields is generally probed using calorimetric methods, which suppose that the heating power does not evolve with time. Among the several parameters governing MNP heating properties, their organization into chains under the influence of the applied magnetic field is of key importance, though the dynamic of this phenomenon has been rarely studied experimentally. In the present article, time-resolved high-frequency hysteresis loops are used to probe the dynamics of chain formation on a sample of 17.3 ± 2.2 nm FeNi3 MNPs. Chains are formed on a timescale, which strongly depends on the magnetic field amplitude, ranging from several tens of seconds to less than 100 ms, but does not depend on frequency in the range studied here (from 9 to 78 kHz). Both the heating power and hysteresis loop squareness increase with time as chains progressively form. These findings have important methodological consequences when defining protocols or analyzing data issued from calorimetric measurements since, in samples where chains form, the heating power varies on a time scale that can be comparable to typical measurement times.

Improving energy efficiency of magnetic CO 2 methanation by modifying coil design, heating agents, and by using eddy currents as the complementary heating source

Abstract: The Sabatier reaction activated by high-frequency magnetic fields is a promising approach for the power-to-gas process because of expected high energy efficiencies and fast switch-on times. Recent progresses have been achieved by combining nanoparticles displaying both a high heating power and a good catalytic activity. Here, we alternatively use iron microparticles associated with our own-designed Ni/CeO2 catalyst. The heating agent is cheap and abundant, and we demonstrate that the presence of eddy currents in the system improves its heating performance. The contribution of eddy currents to global heating is successfully determined by an original protocol consisting in comparing a calorimetric and a high-frequency hysteresis loop-based method to measure heating power. In addition, the optimization of the catalyst bed using SiC-spacers limits sintering and thus improves the durability of the catalyst. The energy efficiency of the catalysis process, calculated as a function of coil consumption and gas flow, is clearly improved by the use of an air-cooled Litz wire coil. These improvements are a step forward toward the development of a cheap and efficient process for chemical energy storage.

A setup to measure the temperature-dependent heating power of magnetically heated nanoparticles up to high temperature.

Abstract: Magnetic heating, namely, the use of heat released by magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) excited with a high-frequency magnetic field, has so far been mainly used for biological applications. More recently, it has been shown that this heat can be used to catalyze chemical reactions, some of them occurring at temperatures up to 700 °C. The full exploitation of MNP heating properties requires the knowledge of the temperature dependence of their heating power up to high temperatures. Here, a setup to perform such measurements is described based on the use of a pyrometer for high-temperature measurements and on a protocol based on the acquisition of cooling curves, which allows us to take into account calorimeter losses. We demonstrate that the setup permits to perform measurements under a controlled atmosphere on solid state samples up to 550 °C. It should in principle be able to perform measurements up to 900 °C. The method, uncertainties, and possible artifacts are described and analyzed in detail. The influence on losses of putting under vacuum different parts of the calorimeter is measured. To illustrate the setup possibilities, the temperature dependence of heating power is measured on four samples displaying very different behaviors. Their heating power increases or decreases with temperature, displaying temperature sensibilities ranging from −2.5 to +4.4% K−1. This setup is useful to characterize the MNPs for magnetically heated catalysis applications and to produce data that will be used to test models permitting to predict the temperature dependence of MNP heating power.