I have had this goal, since like... 2 weeks ago to make ferrofluid!! Now all the websites and YouTube videos that say its easy to make are lying!! That's right I said it... xD

I watched quite a few videos on different ways to make ferrofluid, and most of them said that all you need is MiCR toner and some veggie oil, so I got some toner, mixed it with my veggie oil, and tadaa!! Nothing... The liquid kinda makes a mound when you bring the magnet near it, but it doesn't spike, which was the cool effect I wanted

So the question is, is there still a fairly easy way to make it? I have seen other recipes that use oelic acid and some other stuf with chloride, I think that might be the best way to go, seeing as how the toner way failed

If anyone has made some and knows how to make it please tell me!!

It would be easier just to buy ferrofluid.

Chemistry is more than just taking two things and mixing them together, and I'm not sure you quite know what you're doing. Have you tried asking your science teacher for help?

It costs soooo much tho... Like 60 bucks for 8 ounces of the stuff. I will ask my chemistry teacher this school year of she has some of the materials available and if she can help me so I don't poison myself accidentally. Because apparently making the magnetite uses some very oxidizing materials...

And yes your are right, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doin, but I can at least try right? xD

Quote from Sacrieur

Chemistry is more than just taking two things and mixing them together, and I'm not sure you quite know what you're doing. Have you tried asking your science teacher for help?

This, though what he's talking about is more of a physical property, unless an actual chemical reaction takes place :P

I'm gonna assume you still have some of the toner. Try using different ratios; just mixing two things with no regard to ratios rarely does anything. Since you said it made a noise, you may want to try adding more oil than toner first, to make it less viscous. If that doesn't work, go the other way and add more toner than oil. If I remember right, it's a 3:5 ratio by volume, but it's been forever since I've looked.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Aug 17 2012, 1:47 am by Roy. Reason: Removed response to deleted post

I have tried lots of different ratios of the toner and veggie oil, and I believe the problem is that the iron particles in the toner aren't binding properly to the veggie oil to make a true ferrofluid. If it were a true ferrofluid it would be colloidal (All the iron particles are dispersed evenly and will never settle, kind of like a solution), and from what I have seen, the iron particles separate themselves from the oil after about a day (I discovered this today, seeing as how I got the stuff yesterday xD).

This being said I believe my problem lies in the type of oil I have. It is either this, or the MICR toner does not have enough iron in it, which I don't believe is true. I am going to try oleic acid next because that is what all the other ferrofluid tutorials/recipes say to use, because it "Coats the iron particles with a surfactant that doesn't let them separate or settle". I think oleic acid is olive oil... if I'm wrong, well... I'll try it with another until I have no more toner left xD.

I also asked my chem. teacher at school today and she said that she wants to set up a way to give students the opportunity to their own experiments they come up with. Which is fantastic because that is exactly what I want to do =D

Edit:

Oleic Acid is in fact olive oil, or is derived from olives, I hope it works =D

Have you tried using a blender to mix?


edit: don't trust me I'm not a scientist.

Oleic acid:


Olive oils:


If you want Oleic acid, its salt is usually used in soaps, but that (as well as many other common applications) are far from pure. I have no idea how to help other than to say to try small amounts of toner at a time, so you don't waste any.

50 mL toner
2 tbsp vegetable oil (not olive oil)
strong magnet

If it doesn't work try a stronger magnet. There's one in every hard drive.

I tried this, is just blobs up and doesn't make spikes, I have to actually make the magnetite, and coat it with ammonia so that it will bind to the oleic acid particles so that when I add the carrier fluid (Kerosene), the particles will separate and make a colloid that will never settle. The ammonia lets the olive oil bind to the magnetite, and give each one a layer of positive on the inside, next to the megnetite, and a layer of negatively charged particles on the outside so that the particles repel eachother.