Magneto-Active Ferrite-Based Paint Pigments

Smart materials, including magnetorheological (MR) fluids, have been emerging in a wide range of applications. Ferrite-based paint pigments, nickel ferrite and barium ferrite, are tested as a dispersed phase of a MR fluid in this study. The anticorrosive properties of both pigments have been previously reported, as such, they have a potential to be applied as hybrid corrosion-protection and magneto-active paint. Both pigments were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, and their magnetic properties were evaluated by vibrating-sample magnetometer. Finally, the MR properties were evaluated by rotational rheometer employed with a magneto-cell. The MR performance of both ferrites was compared, with the nickel ferrite as the superior of the two. Thus, the studied pigments have the potential to be applied as a hybrid magneto-active anticorrosive paint.