Aligning anisotropic nanoparticles using external fields is one of the major obstacles to unlocking their enormous potential for novel applications. The most famous such example is graphene, a 2D family of nanomaterials that has received enormous attention since its discovery. Using graphene to enhance mechanical, thermal, electric or gas barrier properties, imparting antibacterial properties etc., relies to a great extent on the ability to control their orientation inside a matrix material, i.e., polymers. Here we summarize the latest advances on graphene orientation using magnetic fields. The review covers the underlying physics for graphene interaction with magnetic fields, theoretical continuum mechanics framework for inducing orientation, typical magnetic field orientation setups, and a summary of latest advances in their use to enhance the performance of materials. Current trends, limitations of current alignment techniques are highlighted and major challenges in the field are identified.

中文翻译：

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石墨烯纳米片在磁场中的取向

使用外部场排列各向异性纳米粒子是释放其新应用的巨大潜力的主要障碍之一。最著名的例子是石墨烯，它是一种二维纳米材料，自发现以来就受到了极大的关注。使用石墨烯来增强机械、热、电或气体阻隔性能，赋予抗菌性能等，在很大程度上依赖于控制它们在基质材料（即聚合物）内的取向的能力。在这里，我们总结了利用磁场定向石墨烯的最新进展。该综述涵盖了石墨烯与磁场相互作用的基础物理学、诱导取向的理论连续介质力学框架、典型的磁场取向设置，以及它们在增强材料性能方面的最新进展的总结。强调了当前趋势、当前对准技术的局限性，并确定了该领域的主要挑战。