Interfacial rheology of stable and weakly aggregated two-dimensional suspensions

The interfacial rheological properties of stable and weakly aggregated two-dimensional suspensions are studied experimentally using a magnetic rod interfacial rheometer. Particle monolayers with well controlled structures were prepared. Charged polystyrene particles create two-dimensional colloidal crystals at the water-decane interface over a wide range of concentrations. Under similar conditions a predominantly liquid structure is obtained at the water-air interface for the same particles. The addition of appropriate combinations of the anionic surfactant sodiumdodecylsulfate (SDS) and sodium chloride (NaCl) to the aqueous subphase leads to a destabilization of these monolayers with the formation of fractal aggregates at low concentrations and a heterogeneous gel forming as the surface coverage is increased. After the structures have been built up a reproducible structure can be obtained, of which the interfacial rheological properties can be investigated using a magnetic rod stress rheometer. In all cases, numerical calculations were used to assess the importance of instrumental artifacts and the effect of the coupling between surface and subphase flows. The rheology of aggregated suspensions was compared to the reference case of a colloidal crystal. The two-dimensional aggregated suspensions display rheological features which are similar to their three-dimensional counterparts. These include an elastic response with small linearity limits, a power law dependence on surface coverage and a dependence on the strength of attraction. The results shed some light on the possible role of interfacial rheology on the stability of particle laden high interface systems. Additionally, the 2D suspensions could present fundamental insights in the rheological properties of dense colloidal suspensions.     

Inducing pH responsiveness via ultralow thiol content in polyacrylamide (micro)gels with labile crosslinks

Here we present the synthesis and characterization of pH responsive polyacrylamide microgels, synthesized via free radical polymerization of acrylamide and bis (acryloylcystamine) (BAC). The gels were made with ultralow amounts of thiol functional groups incorporated into the polymer. The resulting gel monoliths were mechanically chopped into microgel particles with size distributions ranging from 80 to 200 mum. The gels exhibit an interesting reversible pH-dependent rheological behavior which led to gelling of the colloidal suspension when the pH was increased, and a low-viscosity suspension was obtained when the pH was taken back to the original value. The viscosity of the colloidal system containing MBA crosslinked microgels remained insensitive to pH. This observation motivated further analysis; viscosity measurements of the highly viscous (gel-like) state of the BAC crosslinked microgel colloidal suspension were carried out to further understand the rheological behavior of the colloidal system. Electrophoretic mobility measurements as function of pH of the BAC and MBA crosslinked colloidal polyacrylamide microgel suspensions were performed. The swelling behavior of the microgels for both colloidal systems was also determined as function of pH using static light scattering. This swelling behavior was used to rationalize the observed rheological behavior. The work presented here demonstrates that free thiol groups present within a polymer gel matrix confer pH responsive behavior to the gel in solution. The viscosity of a BAC crosslinked microgel suspension was also measured under reducing conditions. The viscosity of the microgel suspension reduced with time, due to the breakage of the disulfide bonds in the crosslinkers.     

Distorted colloidal crystal of similar-sized aggregates (1.5 μm in diameter) of nano-sized diamond particles (4 nm in diameter)

Distorted colloidal crystal suspension of similar-sized aggregates of diamonds (1.5 μm in diameter) was obtained by the deionization of aqueous suspension of the pre-particles of diamond, 4 nm in diameter. The stability, characteristics, and the rigidity of the crystal-like suspensions were studied. The main cause for the formation of the similar-sized aggregates is deduced to be the cooperation between the van de Waals inter-particle attraction and the repulsion induced by the vigorous thermal motion of the pre-particles. The rigidity was evaluated from the microscopic observation in the sedimentation equilibrium. Fluctuation parameters of the distorted colloidal crystals estimated from the rigidities were between 0.03 and 0.06, which are quite similar to those of typical colloidal crystals and solids of hard spheres.     

Rheological behavior of PMN gels for solid freeform fabrication

Lead magnesium niobate (PMN) is a relaxor ferroelectric material and have widespread applications in the manufacture of multilayer electronic devices such as ceramic capacitors, actuators and transducers. The dielectric constant of this electrostrictive material is much higher than the well known ferroelectric barium titanate. However, aqueous processing of PMN is not investigated yet especially for the novel wet shaping fabrication. In this study, concentrated aqueous colloidal PMN gels have been designed to use in the robocasting process. Concentrated PMN suspensions were stabilized by polyacrylic acid and then gelation induced by changing the pH or ionic strength of the suspension or by addition of a cationic polyelectrolyte to the system. Through this procedure it was essential to understand the solid–liquid transition under shear to explore the feasibility of forming without excessive use of polymers. Therefore, rheological response of the samples having a gel network was investigated. Results showed that gelation induced by cationic polyethylene imine or by multivalent salts were successful methods in preparation of PMN gels. However, gelation induced by changing the pH of the suspension was challenging due to ion dissolution from PMN surface.     

Advantages and limitations of the synchrotron based transmission X-ray microscopy in the study of the clay aggregate structure in aqueous suspensions

This paper reports new application of new transmission X-ray microscopy powered by a synchrotron source for the study of aqueous based clay suspensions. This paper delineates the advantages and limitations of this method. The tested transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) technique has shown good agreement with the cryo-stage SEM technique. The spacial resolution of this TXM technique is 60 nm and clay particles with diameter below 500 nm are clearly visible and their pseudohexagonal symmetry is recognizable in detail. It is clearly demonstrated the methodology of implementing TXM to study aqueous based clay suspensions that are close to approximately 60 nm tomographic resolution. The technique enables us to study discrete structure of clay suspensions in water and within aggregates. This has never been previously possible. Larger crystals, more compact aggregates and less colloidal fraction present in kaolinite from Georgia has impact on faster settling and gelling in denser suspension than for Birdwood kaolinite in which colloidal particles create gel-like networking in less dense aqueous suspension.     

Effect of electrolyte in silicone oil-in-water emulsions stabilised by fumed silica particles

Partially hydrophobised fumed silica particles are used to make silicone oil-in-water emulsions at natural pH of the aqueous phase. The stability and rheological properties of the emulsions and suspensions are studied at NaCl concentrations in the range 0-100 mM. It is found that all emulsions are very stable to coalescence irrespective of the NaCl concentration. However, a strong effect of electrolyte on the creaming and rheological properties is observed and linked to the particle interactions in aqueous suspensions. The creaming rate and extent are large at low electrolyte concentrations but both abruptly decrease at salt concentrations exceeding the critical flocculation concentration of the suspension (approximately 1 mM NaCl). The drastic improvement of the stability to creaming is attributed to the formation of a visco-elastic three-dimensional network of interconnected particles and emulsion droplets.     

Colloidal crystallization of spindle-shaped hematite particles coated with polymer brush in deionized aqueous suspension

Colloidal crystallization of highly monodisperse spindle-shaped hematite particles coated with poly(poly(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate) brush (SHB) was studied by reflection spectroscopy and optical microscopy. SHB suspensions were deionized exhaustively with the mixtures of cation- and anion-exchange resins more than 6 months. The liquid thin film along the vertical cell wall above the horizontal air–liquid interface showed the strong color bands. Furthermore, the reflection spectra composed of many sharp peaks shifted continuously toward shorter wavelengths with time. These observations support the presence of thin film of SHB suspension, where the width is thickened downward by the gravity and the layered liquid further flow downward with time. The rigidities of SHB crystals in the bulk phase estimated from the optical microscopy in the sedimentation equilibrium were 0.007 to 0.7 Pa as SHB concentration increased from 0.006 to 0.35 wt.%. The fluctuation parameter, b-factors of the anisotropic crystals, was from 0.025 to 0.035 and decreased slightly as particle concentration increased. Rigidities and the fluctuation parameters of SHB suspensions support that the elastic properties of the anisotropic-shaped colloidal crystals are close to those of typical crystals of colloidal spheres. Compression of the SHB crystals by the gravity is also suggested in the sedimentation equilibrium state.     

Al-Mg MMH正电胶体粒子体系的流变学

研究了铝／镁混合金属氢氧化物（MMH）粒子含量,PH值,电解质等因素对MMH悬浮液流变学的影响,发现MMH粒子浓度的增加使悬浮体从牛顿型流体变为带有屈服值的假塑性流体;在相对很低的粒子浓度（2％）时,通过改变粒子表面化学状态和粒子周围的介质环境可以改变悬浮体的流动形态;MMH悬浮体触变性结构与高PH值时合成锂皂石悬浮体的结构极为相似,是粒子间的静电排斥作用所致。     

Nanosecond probing of the early nucleation steps of silver atoms in colloidal zeolite by pulse radiolysis and flash photolysis techniques

The process of formation and the subsequent aggregation of silver atoms (Ag⁰) in nanosized zeolite beta (BEA) are studied by transient absorption spectroscopy. The zeolite nanocrystals are stabilized in aqueous colloidal suspensions with a narrow particle size distribution in the range 30–60 nm. The reduction of silver cations is initiated either by pulse radiolysis of the aqueous suspension or by photoinduced electron transfer using an organic electron donor adsorbed in the zeolite framework. The silver atom in BEA nanosized crystals is found to be stable on the microsecond timescale.     

Dispersions of nanocrystalline cellulose in aqueous polymer solutions: structure formation of colloidal rods

The steady-state shear and linear viscoelastic deformations of semidilute suspensions of rod-shaped nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) particles in 1.0% hydroxyethyl cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose solutions were investigated. Addition of NCC at the onset of semidilute suspension concentration significantly altered the rheological and linear viscoelastic properties of semidilute polymer solutions. The low-shear viscosity values of polymers solutions were increased 20-490 times (depending on polymer molecular weight and functional groups) by the presence of NCC. NCC suspensions in polymer solutions exhibited yield stresses up to 7.12 Pa. Viscoelasticity measurements also showed that NCC suspended polymer solutions had higher linear elastic moduli than the loss moduli. All of those results revealed the gel formation of NCC particles and presence of internal structures. The formation of a weak gel structure was due to the nonadsorbing macromolecules which caused the depletion-induced interaction among NCC particles. A simple interaction energy model was used to show successfully the flocculation of NCC particles in the presence of nonadsorbing polymers. The model is based on the incorporation of the depletion interaction term between two parallel plates into the DLVO theory for cubic prismatic rod shaped NCC particles.     

Colloidal crystallization of thermo-sensitive gel spheres of poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide). Influence of degree of cross-linking of the gels

Morphology, phase diagram, and reflection spectroscopy of the colloidal crystals of thermo-sensitive gel spheres, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) having degrees of cross-linking 10 and 2?mol.% (pNIPAm(200?C10) and pNIPAm(200?C2)) were studied. Giant colloidal single crystals formed at very low gel concentrations. Critical concentrations of melting increased as the degree of cross-linking decreased in the range from 10 to 0.5?mol.% and/or suspension temperature increased from 20 to 45?°C. The critical concentration decreased sharply as the suspensions were deionized with coexistence of the mixtures of cation- and anion-exchange resins. Density of a gel sphere (gel concentration in weight percent divided by that in volume percent) increased sharply as the degree of cross-linking and/or temperature increased. These results demonstrated that the colloidal crystallization takes place by the extended electrical double layers formed around the gel spheres in addition of the excluded-volume effect of the gels. Most of the researchers including the authors have believed that the crystallization of the gel spheres takes place by the excluded-volume effect. However, the present work clarified that the colloidal interfaces, which are inevitable for the formation of the electrical double layers, are formed firmly between the water phase and gel spheres, though the gel spheres contain a lot of water molecules in the sphere region.     

Influence of poly(ethylene oxide) brushes on the rheological properties of MgO colloidal suspensions in water

A combined experimental and multiscale simulation study of the influence of polymer brush modification on interactions of colloidal particles and rheological properties of dense colloidal suspensions has been conducted. Our colloidal suspension is comprised of polydisperse MgO colloidal particles modified with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) brushes in water. The shear stress as a function of shear rate was determined experimentally and from multiscale simulations for a suspension of 0.48 volume fraction colloids at room temperature for both bare and PEO-modified MgO colloids. Bare MgO particles exhibited strong shear thinning behavior and a yield stress on the order of several Pascals in both experiments and simulations. In contrast, simulations of PEO-modified colloids revealed no significant yielding or shear thinning and viscosity only a few times larger than solvent viscosity. This behavior is inconsistent with results obtained from experiments where modification of colloids with PEO brushes formed by adsorption of PEO-based comb-branched chains resulted in relatively little change in suspension rheology compared to bare colloids over the range of concentration of comb-branch additives investigated. We attribute this discrepancy in rheological properties between simulation and experiment for PEO-modified colloidal suspensions to heterogeneous adsorption of the comb-branch polymers.     

Rheological aspects of colloidal gels in thermoresponsive microgel suspensions: formation,structure, and linear and nonlinear viscoelasticity

This review focuses on the rheological aspects of colloidal gels that are a three-dimensional sparse network made of aggregated attractive particles formed in the aqueous suspensions of microgels composed of thermoresponsive polymers. Heating changes the dominant interparticle interactions from repulsive to attractive because of the hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic transition. Under appropriate conditions, the hydrophobic microgel suspensions form colloidal gels behave as a yield fluid. The elastic and yielding features of the colloidal gels are considerably different from those of the repulsive glass which is formed by the dense packing of the hydrophilic microgels at low temperatures. The thermoresponsive microgel suspensions undergoing colloidal gelation have attracted much attention from not only the academic interests but also the potentials as a functional suspension because they show interesting and marked changes in viscoelasticity when subjected to temperature variation. We discuss the criteria and dynamics of colloidal gelation, the structure, and linear and nonlinear viscoelasticity of the colloid gels with an emphasis on the results of the experimental studies.     

Slow vertical deposition of colloidal crystals: a Langmuir-Blodgett process?

For an evaporating colloidal suspension in which the evaporation velocity exceeds the sedimentation velocity, particles will accumulate at the solvent-air interface. If neither diffusion nor convection can disperse this accumulation, it is expected to grow into a colloidal multilayer several microns thick. We observe that the thickness of colloidal crystals vertically deposited from 1 mum diameter polystyrene latex suspensions of 0.002 < or = phi < or = 0.008 increases linearly with distance in the growth direction and that these thickness profiles are consistent with their growth from a horizontal colloidal layer accumulated beneath the solvent-air interface. We describe a means for performing vertical deposition at growth rates slower than the evaporation rate by adding solvent to the bottom of the colloidal suspension and observe that halving the growth rate of vertical deposition increases both the thickness and the reflectivity of the resulting colloidal crystals, effects indistinguishable from those of doubling the concentration of the colloidal suspension, data also consistent with the colloidal crystals' growth from a horizontal layer of particles beneath the interface. If sufficiently little reorganization is involved as particles move from this horizontal layer to the vertically deposited colloidal crystal, slow vertical deposition of polymer microspheres might be thought of as the Langmuir-Blodgett transfer of a horizontal colloidal crystal onto a vertical substrate. Colloidal crystals deposited using both high concentration and slowed growth can have peak IR reflectance in excess of 80%, exceeding most published values. These observations provide a conceptual framework for engineering vertically deposited colloidal crystals that combine thickness with good optical performance.     

Poly(4-styrenesulfonate) templated polyaniline-carboxymethyl cellulose blend: Morphology and surface resistivity of the spin-coated films

Poly (4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) templated polyaniline-carboxymethyl cellulose blend forming stable aqueous colloidal suspensions was prepared through simple synthesis. Morphology of the spin-coated films obtained from different concentrations of colloidal suspensions was studied through atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM images were found to be drastically altered at lower concentrations showing a regular network-like structure. Room-temperature surface resistivity for the network featured spin-coated film showed semiconducting behavior. This indicates the efficacy of dilution as a new design element for network structures, further exhibiting resistivity.     

Colloidal crystallization of cationic gel spheres of lightly cross-linked poly(2-vinylpyridine) in the deionized aqueous suspension

Colloidal crystallization of deionized suspensions of the cationic gel spheres of lightly cross-linked poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PEGMA-P2VP) has been studied from the microscopic observation, morphology, phase diagram, and elastic property. Critical concentrations of melting coexisted with ion-exchange resins were low compared with those without resins and increased but slightly as the degree of cross-linking decreased. The densities of the gel spheres, i.e., weight percent of the gel spheres divided by the corresponding volume percent, were between 0.7 and 0.9 and rather insensitive to the degree of cross-linking of the spheres examined from 0.1 to 1 mol%. This means that the gel spheres are rather dense. The closest inter-sphere distances of the crystals were much longer than the hydrodynamic diameters of the gel spheres especially at low sphere concentrations. Fluctuation parameters evaluated from the rigidities of the crystals of PEGMA-P2VP were similar to those of colloidal crystals of typical hard spheres. Mono-layered adsorption of cationic gel spheres at the nearest-neighbored layer from a cover glass of the cell was observed microscopically. The stable ordered layers, however, formed beyond the monolayer in the suspension phase. These experimental findings support the important role of the extended electrical double layers around the cationic gel spheres in addition to the excluded volume effect of the sphere themselves on the crystallization.     

Rheological behavior and structural interpretation of waxy crude oil gels

A waxy crude oil which gels below a threshold temperature has been investigated under static and dynamic conditions, using a combination of rheological methods, optical microscopy, and DSC. Particular attention is given in this work to the influence of the mechanical history on gel strength and to describing the time-dependent rheological behavior. The gels display a strong dependence of the yield stress and moduli on the shear history, cooling rate, and stress loading rate. Of particular interest is the partial recovery of the gel structure after application of small stress or strain (much smaller than the critical values needed for flow onset) during cooling, which can be used to reduce the ultimate strength of the crude oil gel formed below the pour point. A second focus of this study is to further develop the physical interpretation of the mechanism by which wax crystallization produces gelation. Gelation of the waxy crude oil studied is suggested to be the result of the association between wax crystals, which produces an extended network structure, and it is shown that the system displays features common to attractive colloidal gels, for one of which, fumed silica (Aerosil 200) in paraffin oil, rheological data are reported. The colloidal gel model provides a simple and economical basis for explaining the response of the gelled oil to various mechanical perturbations and constitutes a fruitful basis from which to develop technologies for controlling the gelation phenomenon, as suggested by the rheological results reported.     

Optimization of LiFePO4 nanoparticle suspensions with polyethyleneimine for aqueous processing

Addition of dispersants to aqueous based lithium-ion battery electrode formulations containing LiFePO(4) is critical to obtaining a stable suspension. The resulting colloidal suspensions enable dramatically improved coating deposition when processing electrodes. This research examines the colloidal chemistry modifications based on polyethyleneimine (PEI) addition and dispersion characterization required to produce high quality electrode formulations and coatings for LiFePO(4) active cathode material. The isoelectric point, a key parameter in characterizing colloidal dispersion stability, of LiFePO(4) and super P C45 were determined to be pH = 4.3 and 3.4, respectively. PEI, a cationic surfactant, was found to be an effective dispersant. It is demonstrated that 1.0 wt % and 0.5 wt % PEI were required to stabilize the LiFePO(4) and super P C45 suspension, respectively. LiFePO(4) cathode suspensions with 1.5 wt % PEI demonstrated the best dispersibility of all components, as evidenced by viscosity and agglomerate size of the suspensions and elemental distribution within dry cathodes. The addition of PEI significantly improved the LiFePO(4) performance.     

水凝胶体系交联过程织构变化的流变学研究

研究了由部分水解聚丙烯酰胺水溶液交联得到的用于三次采油的弱凝胶体系, 使用不同交联剂的水凝胶体系表现出不同的流变特性, 反映两种不同织态结构的弱凝胶, 一种为接近于均匀分形交联网的整体凝胶, 另一种为有特征尺度的非均匀交联网的胶态分散凝胶. 上述结果得到了光学显微镜观测的证明. 强剪切和拉伸流的结果表明, 当凝胶体系中存在大量胶团时, 强剪切可以加强体系中网络结构的完整性, 使得流变性质加强, 不同于一般凝胶的减弱趋势.     

Effect of cationic polymethacrylates on the rheology and flocculation of microfibrillated cellulose

Using two cationic methacrylate polymers: poly([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethyl ammonium iodide) (PDMQ) and poly[(stearyl methacrylate)-stat-([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethyl ammonium iodide)] (PSMA13Q), we modified microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) water suspensions. The aim was to affect the flocculation and rheological behavior of the MFC suspension. PDMQ is a strongly cationic polymer while PSMA13Q, also a cationic polymer, contains hydrophobic segments. We studied the MFC/polymer suspension rheological properties with a rotational rheometer in oscillatory and flow measurements. To observe structural changes in suspensions at different shear rates, we measured flow curves with transparent outer geometry and photographed the sample with a digital camera. The oscillatory measurements showed that a small amount of the cationic PDMQ in the MFC suspension strengthened the gel, whereas a small amount of amphiphilic PSMA13Q weakened it. Increased amounts of either polymer increased the gel strength. PSMA13Q also changed the rheological character of the MFC suspension turning it more fluid-like. When we photographed the flow curve measurement, we saw a clear change in the floc structure. This floc structure rupture coincided with a transient region in the flow curve.