Hysteresis of the magnetic properties of soft magnetic gels

We present results of an experimental and theoretical study of the magnetic properties of soft magnetic gels consisting of micron-sized magnetizable particles embedded in a polymer matrix. Experiments demonstrate hysteretic dependences of composite magnetization on an applied magnetic field and non-monotonic, with maximum, dependence of the sample susceptibilities on the field. We propose a theoretical approach which describes the main physical features of these experimental results. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016

Magnetization of magnetoactive elastomers under the assumption of breakable adhesion at the particle/matrix interface

In this work we study the magnetization of magnetoactive elastomers (MAE) in which the interface between the matrix and magnetic particles is unstable and allows for slipping of the particles against the wall of their elastomer cavities. The estimate of the maximal angle at which each particle can decline its axis from the initial position is made based on cyclic measurement of several consecutive hysteresis loops at different maximal magnetic fields. A model of magnetization of magnetically hard multigrain particles in an elastic environment with allowance for their possible slipping is proposed. Results of modelling is in fair agreement with the experimental data obtained on MAEs whose polymeric matrix is made of polydimethylsiloxane and the magnetic filler is NdFeB spherical particles. © 2022 The Royal Society of ChemistryDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG: Bo 3343/3-1, Od 18/24-1; Russian Foundation for Basic Research, РФФИ: 19-52-12045The research was accomplished with the financial support by RFBR project 19-52-12045 and DFG projects Bo 3343/3-1 and Od 18/24-1

Basic magnetic properties of magnetoactive elastomers of mixed content

The results of theoretical and experimental investigations of the polymer composites that belong to a class of magnetoactive elastomers with mixed magnetic content (MAEs-MC) are presented. The fundamental distinction of such composites from ordinary magnetoactive elastomers is that the magnetic filler of MAEs-MC comprises both magnetically soft (MS) particles of size 3-5 m and magnetically hard (MH) particles whose size is an order of magnitude greater. Since MH particles of the magnetic filler are mixed into a composition in a non-magnetised state, this can ensure preparation of samples with fairly homogeneous distribution of the filler. The 'initiation' process of a synthesised MAE-MC is done by its magnetisation in a strong magnetic field that imparts to the sample unique magnetic and mechanical properties. In this work, it is shown that the presence of MS particles around larger MH particles, firstly, causes an augmentation of magnetic moments, which the MH particles acquire during initiation, and secondly, enhances the magnetic susceptibility and remanent magnetisation of MAEs-MC. These magnetic parameters are evaluated on the basis of the macroscopic magnetostatics from the experimental data of spatial scanning of the field over the space around MAEs-MC made in the shape of a spheroid. A set of samples with a fixed MH and varying MS volume contents that are initiated in two different fields, is used. The developed mesoscopic model of magnetic interactions between the MH and MS phases is able to explain the experimentally observed dependencies of the magnetic parameters on the concentration of the MS phase. The problem is solved numerically under the assumption that the elastic matrix of MAEs-MC is rigid, i.e. the mutual displacements of the particles are negligible. The model helps to elucidate the interaction of the magnetic phases and to establish that the MS phase plays thereby a dual role. On the one hand, the MS phase screens out the field acting inside MH particles, and on the other hand, it forms mesoscopic magnetic bridges between adjoining MH particles, which in turn enhance their field. The combined interplay of these contributions defines the resulting material properties of MAEs-MC on the macroscopic scale. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd

Plantas daninhas e voluntárias de algodão na sucessão de culturas em sistemas de produção.

A cultura do algodão herbáceo no cerrado brasileiro tem predominado em sistemas de produção caracterizados pelo cultivo intensivo do solo, prevalecendo nos esquemas de rotação ou sucessão as culturas da soja, do milho e do feijão, dentre outras espécies, em menor proporção. Também tem sido muito usual o cultivo de soja, milho e algodão geneticamente modificados para resistência a herbicidas

Particle interactions in liquid magnetic colloids by zero field cooled measurements: effects on heating efficiency

The influence of magnetic interactions in assemblies formed by either aggregated or disaggregated uniform gamma-Fe_2O_3 particles are investigated as a function of particle size, concentration, and applied field. Hyperthermia and magnetization measurements are performed in the liquid phase of colloids consisting of 8 and 13 nm uniform gamma-Fe_2O_3 particles dispersed in water and hexane. Although hexane allows the disagglomerated obtaining particle system; aggregation is observed in the case of water colloids. The zero field cooled (ZFC) curves show a discontinuity in the magnetization values associated with the melting points of water and hexane. Additionally, for 13 nm gamma-Fe_2O_3 dispersed in hexane, a second magnetization jump is observed that depends on particle concentration and shifts toward lower temperature by increasing applied field. This second jump is related to the strength of the magnetic interactions as it is only present in disagglomerated particle systems with the largest size, i.e., is not observed for 8 nm superparamagnetic particles, and surface effects can be discarded. The specific absorption rate (SAR) decreases with increasing concentration only for the hexane colloid, whereas for aqueous colloids, the SAR is almost independent of particle concentration. Our results suggest that, as a consequence of the magnetic interactions, the dipolar field acting on large particles increases with concentration, leading to a decrease of the SAR

SIMBIO-SYS : Scientific Cameras and Spectrometer for the BepiColombo Mission

The SIMBIO-SYS (Spectrometer and Imaging for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem) is a complex instrument suite part of the scientific payload of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter for the BepiColombo mission, the last of the cornerstone missions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Horizon + science program. The SIMBIO-SYS instrument will provide all the science imaging capability of the BepiColombo MPO spacecraft. It consists of three channels: the STereo imaging Channel (STC), with a broad spectral band in the 400-950 nm range and medium spatial resolution (at best 58 m/px), that will provide Digital Terrain Model of the entire surface of the planet with an accuracy better than 80 m; the High Resolution Imaging Channel (HRIC), with broad spectral bands in the 400-900 nm range and high spatial resolution (at best 6 m/px), that will provide high-resolution images of about 20% of the surface, and the Visible and near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging channel (VIHI), with high spectral resolution (6 nm at finest) in the 400-2000 nm range and spatial resolution reaching 120 m/px, it will provide global coverage at 480 m/px with the spectral information, assuming the first orbit around Mercury with periherm at 480 km from the surface. SIMBIO-SYS will provide high-resolution images, the Digital Terrain Model of the entire surface, and the surface composition using a wide spectral range, as for instance detecting sulphides or material derived by sulphur and carbon oxidation, at resolutions and coverage higher than the MESSENGER mission with a full co-alignment of the three channels. All the data that will be acquired will allow to cover a wide range of scientific objectives, from the surface processes and cartography up to the internal structure, contributing to the libration experiment, and the surface-exosphere interaction. The global 3D and spectral mapping will allow to study the morphology and the composition of any surface feature. In this work, we describe the on-ground calibrations and the results obtained, providing an important overview of the instrument performances. The calibrations have been performed at channel and at system levels, utilizing specific setup in most of the cases realized for SIMBIO-SYS. In the case of the stereo camera (STC), it has been necessary to have a validation of the new stereo concept adopted, based on the push-frame. This work describes also the results of the Near-Earth Commissioning Phase performed few weeks after the Launch (20 October 2018). According to the calibration results and the first commissioning the three channels are working very well.Peer reviewe

Bacterial Communities Involved in Soil Formation and PlantEstablishment Triggered by Pyrite Bioweathering on ArcticMoraines

Abstract In arctic glacier moraines, bioweathering primed by microbial iron oxidizers creates fertility gradients that accelerate soil development and plant establishment. With the aim of investigating the change of bacterial diversity in a pyrite-weathered gradient, we analyzed the composition of the bacterial communities involved in the process by sequencing 16S rRNA gene libraries from different biological soil crusts (BSC). Bacterial communities in three BSC of different morphology, located within 1 m distance downstream a pyritic conglomerate rock, were significantly diverse. The glacier moraine surrounding the weathered site showed wide phylogenetic diversity and high evenness with 15 represented bacterial classes, dominated by Alphaproteobacteria and pioneer Cyanobacteria colonizers. The bioweathered area showed the lowest diversity indexes and only nine bacterial families, largely dominated by Acidobacteriaceae and Acetobacteraceae typical of acidic environments, in accordance with the low pH of the BSC. In the weathered BSC, iron-oxidizing bacteria were cultivated, with counts decreasing along with the increase of distance from the rock, and nutrient release from the rock was revealed by environmental scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray analyses. The vegetated area showed the presence of Actinomycetales, Verrucomicrobiales, Gemmatimonadales, Burkholderiales, and Rhizobiales, denoting a bacterial community typical of developed soils and indicating that the lithoid substrate of the bare moraine was here subjected to an accelerated colonization, driven by iron-oxidizing activity