Abstract
We have investigated aggregate structures of a colloidal dispersion composed of ferromagnetic plate-like particles with a magnetic moment normal to the particle axis at the particle center, by means of three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations. For no applied magnetic field cases, long cookie-like clusters are formed as magnetic particle-particle interactions increase. Characteristics of these clusters are that particles incline in a certain direction and their magnetic moments alternate in direction between neighboring particles. For applied magnetic field cases, the particles incline in the magnetic field direction so that the cookie-like clusters are not formed easily. When the magnetic field has the same order of influence as the magnetic particle-particle interactions, the particles do not form the clusters. However, as the influence of the magnetic field and magnetic particle-particle interactions become significantly strong, thick chain-like clusters are formed along the magnetic field direction.
