Diffusional coagulation of superparamagnetic particles in the presence of an external magnetic field

In this paper, we investigate the diffusional coagulation of colloidal superparamagnetic (SP) latex particles that are under the influence of an external magnetic field. The cluster size distributions (CSDs) that evolve with time were determined using an optical set-up that permits the direct visualization of particle clusters. Following the dynamic scaling analysis of van Dongen and Ernst (Phys. Rev. Lett. 54 (1985) 1396), we find that the CSDs all collapse onto a master curve when properly scaled. The bell-shape of this master curve indicates that large clusters preferentially scavenge small clusters in our system. From the time evolution of the average cluster size we infer that the reactivity between large clusters diminishes with increasing cluster size. These results are consistent with a simple mathematical formulation of the coagulation rate constant, or kernel, for the Brownian coagulation of magnetic particles. Moreover, our results support a growing body of evidence that the dynamic scaling theory developed by van Dongen and Ernst is a useful framework with which to study the microscale processes governing particle coagulation.