Synthesis and Electrorheological Properties of LTNO-PS Composites

Core-shell structural Li and Ti co-doped NiO/polystyrene samples (LTNO/PS) were synthesized by a sol-gel method and studied by TEM, X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy and LCR meter. It was found that the core-shell LTNO/PS particles are nearly smooth spheres with an average size of around 4.0 mm, while the LTNO particles alone have a size of around 3.5 mm. The electrorheological activity of LTNO particles with PS coating is larger than that of the bare ones with the same components. This research reveals that the high dielectric constant and corresponding dielectric loss of the LTNO is related to the Li and Ti contents. The increase of electrorheological activity of LTNO particles with PS coating is caused by the increase of dielectric permittivity, the surface structural change, and the reduction of leakage current of PS-coated samples due to the high resistivity and soft contacting of PS shell. By the preparation of core/shell structural materials and taking the advantage of the shell to reduce the leakage current between the particles, the electrorheological effect can be effectively increased.     

Electrorheological properties of suspensions of hollow globular titanium oxide/polypyrrole particles

Hollow globular clusters of titanium oxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. The prepared particles were consequently coated by in situ polymerization of conductive polymer polypyrrole (PPy) to obtain novel core–shell structured particles as a dispersed phase in electrorheological (ER) suspensions. The X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy provided information on particle composition and morphology. It appeared that PPy coating improved the compatibility of dispersed particles with silicone oil which results in higher sedimentation stability compared to that of mere TiO₂ particles-based ER suspension. The ER properties were investigated under both steady and oscillatory shears. It was found that TiO₂/PPy particles-based suspension showed higher ER activity than that of mere TiO₂ hollow globular clusters. These observations were elucidated well in view of their dielectric spectra analysis; a larger dielectric loss enhancement and faster interfacial polarization were responsible for a higher ER activity of core–shell structured TiO₂/PPy-based suspensions. Investigation of changes in ER properties of prepared suspensions as a function of particles concentration, viscosity of silicone oil used as a suspension medium, and electric field strength applied was also performed.     

Electrorheological characterization of polyaniline-coated poly(methyl methacrylate) suspensions

Surface-conductive particles consisting of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) core and a polyaniline (PA)-coated shell were synthesized and adopted as suspended particles for electrorheological (ER) fluids. The PA-PMMA composite particles synthesized were monodisperse and spherical in shape. The PA-PMMA suspensions in silicone oil showed typical ER characteristics under an applied electric field. The PA-PMMA composite particles possess a higher dielectric constant and conductivity than the pure PA particle, within an acceptable conductivity range for ER fluids, but the PA-based ER fluid showed larger shear-stress enhancement than the PA-PMMA-based systems. This phenomena can be explained by the interfacial polarizability of PA-based ER fluids, which is the difference between the ER fluid's dielectric constant and loss factor - this polarizability was higher than that of PA-PMMA-based ER fluids, as shown by the dielectric spectrum of each fluid. The insulating PMMA core suppressed the interfacial polarization in ER fluids, resulting in reduced interaction among particles under an imposed electric field.     

The influence of high dielectric constant core on the activity of core-shell structure electrorheological fluid

The core-shell structural dielectric particles are applied widely in the electrorheological (ER) fluids. The properties of the dielectric core are critical factors influencing their ER activity. In this paper, we successfully synthesized two kinds of core-shell hydroxyl titanium oxalate (TOC) particles with SiO(2) and TiO(2) as core, respectively. The obtained core-shell structural SiO(2)-TOC and TiO(2)-TOC particles were well-dispersed spherical nanoparticles with ideal morphology and a narrow size distribution. Under DC electric fields, the TiO(2)-TOC ER fluid showed notable ER activity with a yield stress of about 96 kPa (at 4 kV/mm), which is 3 times of that SiO(2)-TOC ER fluid and outclassed the yield stress of the TOC ER fluid. The dielectric spectra indicated that the higher dielectric constant of TiO(2) core induces the stronger interaction between the neighboring particles, which contribute to the enhancement of ER activity.     

Electrorheological characteristics of polyaniline/titanate composite nanotube suspensions

In this paper, one-dimensional polyaniline/titanate (PANI/TN) composite nanotubes were synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization directed by block copolymer. These novel nanocomposite particles were used as a dispersed phase in electrorheological (ER) fluids, and the ER properties were investigated under both steady and dynamic shear. It was found that the ER activity of PANI/TN fluids varied with the ratio of aniline to titanate, and the PANI/TN suspensions showed a higher ER effect than that made by sphere-like PANI/TiO₂ nanoparticles. These observations were well interpreted by their dielectric spectra analysis; a larger dielectric loss enhancement and a faster rate of interfacial polarization were responsible for a higher ER activity of nanotubular PANI/TN-based fluids.     

The influence of intercalation rate and degree of substitution on the electrorheological activity of a novel ternary intercalated nanocomposite

Kaolinite/dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)/carboxymethyl starch (CMS) ternary nanocomposites were prepared according to the combination of intercalation and solution reaction. The results show that the intercalation rate (IR) of kaolinite in the ternary composite is adjusted by changing the mass rate, and the basal spacing of kaolinite was swelled from 0.715 to 1.120 nm. At the suitable component ratio of ternary nanocomposite, the optimum electrorheological (ER) effect can be attained. It is apparent that the notable ER effect of ternary ER fluid was attributed to the prominent dielectric property of the ternary nanocomposite electrorheological fluids (ERF), which is closely associated with the IR. With the increase of degree of substitution, the ER effect of ternary composite ERF is enhanced.     

A kinetics-controlled coating method to construct 1D attapulgite @ amorphous titanium oxide nanocomposite with high electrorheological activity

A new kind of one-dimension attapulgite (APG) @ titanium oxide nanoparticles was prepared via kinetics-controlled coating method. By simply altering the ammonia content and reaction time to control the kinetics of hydrolysis and condensation of tetra-n-butyl titanate (TBOT) in ethanol/ammonia mixtures, amorphous titanium oxide nanoparticles can adhere to the APG rods firmly, and the thickness of uniform amorphous titanium oxide shells can be adjusted from 0 to 40 nm. The obtained APG@ titanium oxide nanorods were applied as a new electrorheological (ER) fluid, which showed a promising ER activity. The yield stresses of the APG@ titanium oxide nanorod (40-nm shell thickness) ER fluid under electric field was 2.1 times of the granular titanium oxide ER fluid and 4.1 times of the APG ER fluid. And, the APG@ titanium oxide nanorod ER fluid also exhibited distinctly improved suspended stability.     

A new approach of enhancing the shear stress of electrorheological fluids of montmorillonite nanocomposite by emulsion intercalation of poly-N-methaniline

Poly-N-methaniline/montmorillonite (PNMA-MMT) nanocomposite particles with high dielectric constant as well as suitable conductivity were synthesized by an emulsion intercalation method and characterized by FT-IR, XRD, and TEM spectrometry, respectively. The electrorheological (ER) properties of the suspensions of PNMA-MMT particles in silicone oil (20 wt%) were investigated under DC electric fields. It was found that the shear stress of poly-N-methaniline/montmorillonite electrorheological fluid (ERF) is 6.0 kPa in 3 kV/mm (74.5 s(-1)), which is 3.6 times that of electrorheological fluid at zero field, and also much higher than that of pure poly-N-methaniline (PNMA) and montmorillonite (MMT). In the range of 10-90 degrees C, the shear stress changes slightly with the temperature. The sedimentation ratio of PNMA-MMT ERF was about 97% after 60 days. Furthermore, the dielectric constant of PNMA-MMT nanocomposite was increased 3.74 times that of PNMA and 1.99 times that of MMT at 1000 Hz, the dielectric loss tangent also increased about 1.58 times that of PNMA. It is apparent that the notable ER effect of PNMA-MMT ER fluid was attributed to the prominent dielectric property of the poly-N-methaniline/montmorillonite nanocomposite particles.     

Mechanochemical Preparation of Nanodispersed Mo3@CeO2 Composite and Its Catalytic Properties in Oxidation of Ethanol

Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry - It was shown that mechanochemical treatment of 1 : 1 MoO3–CeO2 oxide mixture leads to the formation of nanosized particles with core–shell type...     

高岭土／羧甲基淀粉复合颗粒的制备及其协同电流变效应

通过二次插层取代法，以二甲基亚砜为前驱体，羧甲基淀粉二次插层取代制备 了高岭土/羧甲基淀粉纳米复合材料。结合XRD，FTIR，SEM和EDS等测试手段对复合 材料的结构进行了表征。研究结果发现，羧甲基淀粉经过二次插层取代引起了高岭 土片层之间的剥离，形成剥离型纳米复合材料。该复合材料制备成电流变液出现了 较大的协同效应，具有很好的电流变行为，并发现电流变性能与复合物中羧甲基淀 粉的含量有密切关系。     

Core–shell micron-scale composites of titanium oxide and carbide formed through controlled thermal-plasma oxidation

Core–shell structured micron-scale spheres of titanium oxide and carbide were prepared by the controlled in-flight oxidation of a powder of irregularly shaped titanium-carbide particles in an argon–oxygen thermal plasma. Mono-dispersed core–shell particles with rutile shells and TiC cores were formed by an intermediate-rate input of oxygen to the plasma gas. The partial oxidation of the TiC particles in the liquid phase was accompanied by spheroidization of the surface oxide melt, thus giving rise to a core–shell composite under rapid quenching. TiO₂–TiC core–shell composites have potential as new materials for roles such as light-scattering media, photo-catalysts, and electro-rheorogical fluids.     

Hybrid gold/silica/nanocrystal-quantum-dot superstructures: synthesis and analysis of semiconductor-metal interactions

We report on the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of well-defined hybrid structures that consist of a gold core overcoated with a silica shell, followed by a dense monolayer of CdSe nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs). The dielectric silica spacer of a controlled thickness provides a simple means for tuning interactions between the QD emitters and the metal core. To illustrate this tunability, we demonstrate switching between QD emission quenching and enhancement by varying the silica shell thickness. Synthetic procedures developed here employ a final step of self-assembly of QDs onto the silica shell performed via simple titration of the QD solution with prefabricated core/shell Au/SiO2 particles. This approach allows us to perform an accurate quantitative analysis of the effect of the metal on the QD emission intensity. One important result of this analysis is that nonuniformity of nonradiative rates across the QD ensemble has a significant effect on both the magnitude and the shell-thickness dependence of the emission enhancement/quenching factors.     

Synthesis and electrorheological behavior of sterically stabilized polypyrrole-silica-methylcellulose nanocomposite suspension

Various polypyrrole (PPy)-silica-methylcellulose nanocomposite particles were synthesized by suspension polymerization in the presence of silica nanoparticles controlling the ratio of pyrrole, silica, and methylcellulose during the polymerization. The electrorheological (ER) and dielectric properties of the sterically stabilized PPy-silica-methylcellulose nanocomposite suspensions were investigated. The ER response increases with the increase in the silica/pyrrole ratio. The ER behavior also depends on the methylcellulose amount during the polymerization. The yield stress initially increases with the methylcellulose amount, passes through a maximum, and then decreases with the methylcellulose amount. The dielectric constants and dc conductivities of the PPy-silica-methylcellulose nanocomposite particles and the dielectric properties of their suspensions indicate that the increased ER response arises from the enhanced interfacial and particle polarization which depends on the silica/pyrrole ratio and the methylcellulose amount during the polymerization.     

Synthesis and electrorheological properties of oxalate group-modified amorphous titanium oxide nanoparticles

A kind of titanium oxide nanoparticles modified with varying amounts of oxalate group was prepared using a modified hydrolysis method. The microstructure, dielectric properties, and electrorheological (ER) performance were investigated. The results indicate that the oxalate group can effectively improve the dielectric properties and surface polarizability of the particles, and the ER performance of modified titanium oxide-based ER fluid is much higher than that of pure titanium oxide-based ER fluid. The shear stress of suitable oxalate group-modified amorphous titanium oxide-based ER fluid with a volume fraction of 30% reaches 47.5 kPa at E = 5 kV/mm, and the current density is less than 18 μAcm⁻². The yield stress can be up to 114 kPa at E = 5 kV/mm with a volume fraction of 40%.     

Formation,Phase, and Elemental Composition of Micro- and Nano-Dimensional Particles of the Fe–Ti System

X-ray fluorescence, X-ray phase analysis, and transmission Mössbauer and NGR spectrometry are used to study the formation, phase, and elemental composition of Fe–Ti particles. The interaction between Fe(III) ions and dispersed titanium in an aqueous solution containing chloride ions and HF is studied. It is shown that the resulting Fe–Ti samples are a set of core–shell microparticles with titanium cores coated with micro- and nanosized α-Fe nucleation centers with the thinness outer layer of iron(III) oxide characterized by a developed surface.     

核壳型聚苯胺/钛酸钡的结构及其电流变性能

用改进的溶胶-凝胶法制备了核壳型聚苯胺/钛酸钡复合微粉,通过TEM及FT-IR分析表征了其形貌及微观结构,用复合微粉与氯化石蜡油配制成无水电流变(ER)液,研究其不同膜厚核壳粒子的电流变性能.研究结果表明,聚苯胺/钛酸钡复合粒子配置成的电流变液的电流变性能较纯聚苯胺的为强;钛酸钡的涂层厚度对复合粒子电流变性能有重要影响;并在d=20 nm时获得最佳电流变性能.     

Effect of Cl− anions on photocatalytic decomposition of gaseous ozone over Au @ Ag/TiO2 catalyst

Au core Ag shell composite structure nanoparticles were prepared using a sol method. The Au core Ag shell composite nanoparticles were loaded on TiO₂ nanoparticles as support using a modified powder–sol method, enabling the generation of Au @ Ag/TiO₂ photocatalysts for photocatalytic decomposition and elimination of ozone. The sols were characterized by means of ultraviolet–visible light (UV–Vis) reflection spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The activity of the Au @ Ag/TiO₂ photocatalysts for photocatalytic decomposition and elimination of ozone was evaluated and the effect of Cl^? anions on the photocatalytic activity of the catalysts was highlighted. Results showed that Au @ Ag/TiO₂ prepared via the modified powder–sol route in the presence of an appropriate amount of NaCl solid as demulsifier had better activity in the photocatalytic decomposition and elimination of ozone. At the same time, Au @ Ag/TiO₂ catalysts had better ability to resist poisonous Cl^? anions than conventional Au/TiO₂ catalyst. The reasons could be, first, that NaCl was capable of reducing the concentration of free Ag⁺ by adsorption on the surface of Ag particles forming AgCl and enhancing the formation of Au core Ag shell particles, leading to a better resistance to Cl^? anions of the catalysts, and, second, AgCl took part in the photocatalytic decomposition of ozone together with Au @ Ag/TiO₂ catalysts and had a synergistic effect on the latter, resulting in better photocatalytic activity of Au @ Ag/TiO₂ catalysts.     

Fast and facile fabrication of a graphene oxide/titania nanocomposite and its electro-responsive characteristics

A graphene oxide/titania (GO/TiO(2)) nanocomposite was fabricated by a facile electrostatic attraction method. With high polarization of GO particles and a relatively high dielectric constant of TiO(2) nanoparticles, the GO/TiO(2) nanocomposite is observed to be a potential electro-responsive electrorheological material under an applied electric field.     

Preparation of montmorillonite/titania nanocomposite and enhanced electrorheological activity

We prepared a new type of electrorheological particle composed of TiO2 nanocrystallites-coated montmorillonite (MMT/TiO2) nanocomposite by the sol-gel technique. The characterizations including TGA, XRD, TEM, SEM, EDS, and FTIR showed that TiO2 was deposited on the surface of the MMT flakes with anatase nanocrystallite. An obviously enhanced ER effect was found in the MMT/TiO2 nanocomposites based ER fluids compared with pure MMT and TiO2. Furthermore, the temperature and sedimentation stabilities of the MMT/TiO2 ER fluids had also been improved greatly. Interestingly, the content of TiO2 was demonstrated to have an important influence on the ER effect. When the content of TiO2 was about 20 wt%, the ER effect of MMT/TiO2 ER fluid reached its maximum, which was about 5 times that of pure MMT ER fluid and 27 times that of pure TiO2 ER fluid. Based on dielectric analysis, the significant ER enhancement by formation nanocrystallites-coated montmorillonite was attributed to the enhanced interfacial polarization in this nanocomposite particle due to the effective limitation of the long-range drift of active ions in montmorillonite particles.     

Polyaniline microsphere encapsulated by poly(methyl methacrylate) and investigation of its electrorheological properties

Microspheres consisting of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shell wrapping the conductive polyaniline (PANI) particle as a core were prepared by an in-situ suspension polymerization method and then adopted as an electrorheological (ER) material. The polymerization reaction and encapsulation were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectrum analysis. The rod-like PANI particles were synthesized via an emulsion polymerization protocol and observed by transmission electron microscopy. In addition, a spherical shape of encapsulated PANI/PMMA (core/shell) microspheres was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The thermal stability of PANI/PMMA particles was examined by use of thermogravimetric analysis. The PANI/PMMA particle-based suspension in silicone oil exhibited typical ER behavior. The conductivity of PANI/PMMA particles was much lower than that of the rod-like PANI.