Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) have been extensively investigated for potential utilization due to their unique structure and properties as a type of natural, eco-friendly clay. The synthesis and modification of magnetic halloysite nanotubes was studied using several experimental techniques including SEM, TEM, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and BET. Dye absorption experiments were conducted to understand bonding using EDS, XPS, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. In this study, we evaluated Sunset Yellow FCF (SY) dye removal as a model to understand bonding structures among magnetic HNTs, magnetic particles, and dye molecules. We focus on the interactions of SY-magnetic HNTs and characteristics of magnetization by VSM after SY dye adsorption, which highlight the notable features of magnetic halloysite nanotubes. We used different pH environments to study the behavior of magnetic HNTs after dye absorption. The application of these modified HNTs is promising for future organic dye removal and wastewater treatment.

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Well-defined and technically relevant domain configurations are sought in patterned magnetic thin films. We used Magnetic Force Microscopy to investigate these in square-patterned Permalloy films. The films were prepared using dc sputter deposition by varying the Argon pressure from 1.5×10−3 to 30.0×10−3 mbar. The Landau domain configuration was found in films prepared at 1.5×10−3 mbar pressure. With an increase in pressure, tulip and irregular domains were consecutively formed. Based on magnetic and structural characterizations, an increase in coercivity and a decrease in Permalloy film density were observed at the same time.@en

Cell membrane potential affects the electrostatic self-assembly of magnetizable nanoparticles around the flagellum of sperm cells, leading to the formation of biohybrid microrobots (i.e., IRONSperm) with various bending stiffness. Here we explain the influence of bull sperm cell membrane potential on the formation of two types of IRONSperm samples that are produced by electrostatic self-assembly. The first type is a proximal-coated soft body with nanoparticles concentrated on the head to maintain high flexibility of the flagellum and create a passively propagating transverse bending wave under the influence of an external rotating magnetic field. The second type is a rigid-body with nanoparticles approximately uniformly distributed along the length to provide arbitrary geometry that maintains a constant chiral shape and propel by rotation about its long axis. We present a magneto-elastohydrodynamic model to predict the swimming speed at low Reynolds number for rigid IRONSperm with arbitrary shapes, and show that decreasing the bending stiffness allows the model to capture the behavior of its soft counterpart. While the response of a rigid chiral IRONSperm is distinguished by a greater swimming speed with a smooth decay with frequency, the benefit of a soft flagellum in certain scenarios would present a much smaller range of frequencies for wireless actuation.

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Magnetic nanoparticles can be electrostatically assembled around sperm cells to form biohybrid micro robots. These biohybrid microrobots possess sufficient magnetic material to potentially allow for pulse-echo localization and wireless actuation. Alternatively, magnetic excitation of these nanoparticles can be used for localization based on Faraday's law of induction using a detection coil. Here, we investigate the influence of the electrostatic attraction between positively charged nanoparticles and negatively charged sperm cells on the activation of the nanoparticles during nonlinear differential magnetometry and wireless magnetic actuation. Activation of clusters of free nanoparticles and nanoparticles bound to the body of sperm cells is achieved by a combination of a high- frequency alternating field and a pulsating static field. The nonlinear response in both cases indicates that constraining the nanoparticles is likely to yield significant decreases in the magnetometry sensitivity. While the attachment of particles to the cells enables wireless actuation (rolling locomotion), the rate of change of the magnetization of the nanoparticles decreases one order of magnitude compared to free nanoparticles@en