Mechanism-Oriented Analysis of Core–Shell Structured CIP@SiO2 Magnetic Abrasives for Precision-Enhanced Magnetorheological Polishing

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This study addresses the critical challenge of precise control over active abrasive particles in magnetorheological polishing (MRP) through innovative core–shell particle engineering. A sol–gel synthesized CIP@SiO2 magnetic composite abrasive with controlled SiO2 encapsulation (20 nm shell thickness) was developed using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the silicon precursor, demonstrating significant advantages in optical-grade fused silica finishing. Systematic polishing experiments reveal that the core–shell architecture achieves a remarkable 20.16% improvement in surface quality (Ra = 1.03 nm) compared to conventional CIP/SiO2 mixed abrasives, with notably reduced surface defects despite a modest 8–12% decrease in material removal rate. Through synergistic analysis combining elastic microcontact mechanics modeling and molecular dynamics simulations, we establish that the SiO2 shell mediates stress distribution at tool–workpiece interfaces, effectively suppressing deep subsurface damage while maintaining nano-scale material removal efficiency. The time-dependent performance analysis further demonstrates that extended polishing durations with CIP@SiO2 composites progressively eliminate mid-spatial frequency errors without introducing new surface artifacts. These findings provide fundamental insights into designed abrasive architectures for precision finishing applications requiring sub-nanometer surface integrity control.