Selecting for function: solution synthesis of magnetic nanopropellers.

Vach, Peter J; Brun, Nicolas; Bennet, Mathieu; Bertinetti, Luca; Widdrat, Marc; Baumgartner, Jens; Klumpp, Stefan; Fratzl, Peter et al. · Nano Lett · 2013

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We show that we can select magnetically steerable nanopropellers from a set of carbon coated aggregates of magnetic nanoparticles using weak homogeneous rotating magnetic fields. The carbon coating can be functionalized, enabling a wide range of applications. Despite their arbitrary shape, all nanostructures propel parallel to the vector of rotation of the magnetic field. We use a simple theoretical model to find experimental conditions to select nanopropellers which are predominantly smaller than previously published ones.