Magnetorheology of xanthan-gum-coated soft magnetic carbonyl iron microspheres and their polishing characteristics

Magnetorheological (MR) fluids are colloidal suspensions of soft magnetic particles dispersed in a non-magnetic liquid. Among their applications, MR polishing has attracted considerable attention owing to its smart control of the polishing characteristics for dedicated microelectromechanical system applications. To improve the polishing characteristics of MR fluids, we fabricated carbonyl iron (CI) microspheres coated with xanthan gum (XG) by using a solvent casting method. The morphologies and densities of both pure CI and CI/XG particles were characterized using a scanning electron microscope and a pycnometer, respectively. In addition, the rheological characteristics of the MR fluids under various applied magnetic field strengths were examined using a rotational rheometer. The MR polishing characteristics were conducted using an MR polishing machine to examine the surface roughness and the material removal by MR polishing with added nano-ceria slurry abrasives.