We fabricated self-powered colloidal Janus motors combining catalytic and magnetic cap structures, and demonstrated their performance for manipulation (uploading, transportation, delivery) and sorting of microobjects on microfluidic chips. The specific magnetic properties of the Janus motors are provided by ultrathin multilayer films that are designed to align the magnetic moment along the main symmetry axis of the cap. This unique property allows a deterministic motion of the Janus particles at a large scale when guided in an external magnetic field. The observed directional control of the motion combined with extensive functionality of the colloidal Janus motors conceptually opens a straightforward route for targeted delivery of species, which are relevant in the field of chemistry, biology, and medicine.

Magnetic nanostructures are being developed for use in many aspects of our daily life, spanning areas such as data storage, sensing and biomedicine. Whereas patterned nanomagnets are traditionally two-dimensional planar structures, recent work is expanding nanomagnetism into three dimensions; a move triggered by the advance of unconventional synthesis methods and the discovery of new magnetic effects. In three-dimensional nanomagnets more complex magnetic configurations become possible, many with unprecedented properties. Here we review the creation of these structures and their implications for the emergence of new physics, the development of instrumentation and computational methods, and exploitation in numerous applications.

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We present fuel-free locomotion of magnetic spherical Janus motors driven by magnetically induced thermophoresis--a self-diffusive propulsion of an object in any liquid media due to a local temperature gradient. Within this approach an ac magnetic field is applied to induce thermophoretic motion of the objects via heating a magnetic cap of the particles, while an additional dc magnetic field is used to orient Janus motors and guide their motion on a long time scale. Full control over the motion is achieved due to specific properties of ultrathin 100-nm-thick Permalloy (Py, Fe₁₉Ni₈₁ alloys) magnetic films resulting in a topologically stable magnetic vortex state in the cap structure of Janus motors. Realized here magnetically induced thermophoretic locomotion does not require catalytic chemical reactions that imply toxic reagents. In this respect, we addressed and successfully solved one of the main shortcomings in the field of artificial motors, namely being fully controlled and remain biocompatible. Therefore, our approach is attractive for biotechnological in vitro assays and even in vivo operations, since the functioning of Janus motors offers low toxicity; it is not dependent on the presence of the fuel molecules in solution. Furthermore, the suggested magnetic ac excitation is superior compared to the previously proposed optically induced heating using lasers as it does not require transparent packaging.

Solid ferromagnetic materials are rigid in shape and cannot be reconfigured. Ferrofluids, although reconfigurable, are paramagnetic at room temperature and lose their magnetization when the applied magnetic field is removed. Here, we show a reversible paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transformation of ferrofluid droplets by the jamming of a monolayer of magnetic nanoparticles assembled at the water-oil interface. These ferromagnetic liquid droplets exhibit a finite coercivity and remanent magnetization. They can be easily reconfigured into different shapes while preserving the magnetic properties of solid ferromagnets with classic north-south dipole interactions. Their translational and rotational motions can be actuated remotely and precisely by an external magnetic field, inspiring studies on active matter, energy-dissipative assemblies, and programmable liquid constructs.

The first printable magnetic sensor relying on the giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR) is demonstrated. It is prepared in the form of magneto-sensitive inks adherent to any kind of arbitrarily shaped surface. The fabricated sensor exhibits a room-temperature GMR of up to 8% showing great potential for contactless switching in hybrid electronic circuits (discrete semiconductor and printable elements) applied to the surface by regular painting.

X-ray tomography is a well-established technique to characterize 3D structures in material sciences and biology; its magnetic analogue—magnetic X-ray tomography—is yet to be developed. Here we demonstrate the visualization and reconstruction of magnetic domain structures in a 3D curved magnetic thin films with tubular shape by means of full-field soft X-ray microscopies. The 3D arrangement of the magnetization is retrieved from a set of 2D projections by analysing the evolution of the magnetic contrast with varying projection angle. Using reconstruction algorithms to analyse the angular evolution of 2D projections provides quantitative information about domain patterns and magnetic coupling phenomena between windings of azimuthally and radially magnetized tubular objects. The present approach represents a first milestone towards visualizing magnetization textures of 3D curved thin films with virtually arbitrary shape.

The magnetic microstructure of rolled‐up magnetic nanomembranes is revealed both theoretically and experimentally. Two types of nanomembranes are considered, one with a non‐magnetic spacer layer and the other without. Experimentally, by using different materials and tuning the dimensions of the rolled‐up nanomembranes, domain patterns consisting of spiral‐like and azimuthally magnetized domains are observed, which are in qualitative agreement with the theoretical predictions.