Dual nature of magnetic nanoparticle dispersions enables control over short-range attraction and long-range repulsion interactions

Abstract

Competition between attractive and repulsive interactions between colloidal particles drives the formation of complex assemblies. Here, the authors exploit the dual functionality of magnetic nanoparticle dispersions to simultaneously drive attraction and repulsion between suspended non-magnetic microspheres, allowing for precise tuning of the interaction energy landscape of colloidal particles.