Flocculation and rheology of kaolinite/quartz suspensions

Rheological properties of suspensions of Na-kaolinite and colloidal quartz (Min-U-Sil) at constant overall volume concentration of 2% are determined with a Weissenberg Rheogoniometer using a combined Couette and cone-and-plate geometry. The results are interpreted in terms of the flocculation behaviour of the constituent particles in the presence of high salt concentrations (0.1–0.75m NaCl) at pH 6, 7 and 8. In these chemical environments these suspensions are pseudoplastic for much of the range of mixture compositions becoming Newtonian for suspensions containing only quartz. These properties reflect the dominant influence of interactions between kaolinite particles on the flocculation behaviour of the mixture.Nomenclature a ₁, a₂ radii of spheres - A Hamaker constant - b radius of cylinder - C volumetric solids concentration - e ₀ electronic charge - H ₀ shortest distance between surfaces - I ionic strength - J collision frequency per unit volume - k Boltzmann constant - l length of cylinder - m number in eq. (2) - N particle number concentration - S (H ₀ + b)/b in eq. (4) - T absolute temperature - U electrophoretic mobility - V _A van der Waals attractive energy - V _R coulombic energy - V _T total energy of interaction - X H ₀/2a₁ in eq. (5) - Y a ₂/a₁ in eq. (5) - thickness of plate - shear rate - permittivity - zeta potential - k Debye-Hückel parameter - µ dynamic viscosity - µ _pl plastic viscosity - v valency of counter ion - shear stress - _B Bingham stress - ₁, ₂ dimensionless potentials - ₁, ₂ surface potentials     

Magnetic property of a triply bridged linear trinuclear nickel complex

A new linear trinuclear nickel(II) complex, [Ni₃L₂(OCn)₄] (HL = 2-[(3-dimethylamino-propylimino)-methyl]-phenol, OCn = cinnamate), with phenoxo bridge and a novel tridentate bridging mode (in a 2.21 fashion according to Harris notation), of the cinnamate ligand has been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography and static magnetic measurements. The molecular structure shows that each nickel ion occupies octahedral coordinating geometry. Apart from the phenoxo bridges, the carboxylic group of cinnamic anion shows two types of bridging modes viz. 2.11 and 2.21. The magnetic data indicate that a moderate intramolecular ferromagnetic and a weak intermolecular antiferromagnetic interaction are present in the complex under study. Broken symmetry density functional theory has been used to estimate the sign and magnitude of the coupling constants to understand the magnetic exchange mechanisms of the present system. The relative abilities of different bridging groups to mediate magnetic exchange interactions between paramagnetic nickel centers have been investigated by DFT calculation with variable angles. The results show that a small change in phenoxo-bridging angle has a very strong impact on the magnetic properties.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Rare Earth Metal Chlorides Bearing Bridged-Indenyl Ancillary Ligand

Two new rare earth metal chloride complexes supported by a bridged‐indenyl ancillary ligand, [C₉H₆SiMe₂‐ (CH₂)₂SiMe₂C₉H₆]Ln(µ‐Cl)₂Li(TMEDA) [Ln=Y ( 1 ), Lu ( 2 )], were synthesized via salt metathesis reaction. Reaction of C₉H₇SiMe₂(CH₂)₂SiMe₂C₉H₇ with 2 equiv. of n‐butyllithium in hexane at room temperature afforded [C₉H₆SiMe₂‐ (CH₂)₂SiMe₂C₉H₆]Li₂ as white powder in 95% isolated yield. Further treatment of [C₉H₆SiMe₂(CH₂)₂SiMe₂‐ C₉H₆]Li₂ with anhydrous LnCl₃ in 1:1 molar ratio in THF/TMEDA at room temperature provided the bridged‐indenyl rare earth metal chlorides 1 and 2 in 86%–89% isolated yields. Both complexes were characterized by FT‐IR spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and X‐ray single crystal structure analysis. The central metals in both complexes are eight‐coordinated by two indenyl ligands in η⁵‐fashion, and two chlorine atoms to adopt a distorted tetrahedral geometry.     

Influence of divalent ions on composition and viscoelasticity of polyelectrolyte complexes

The addition of monovalent salts to polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) comprising oppositely charged polyelectrolytes results in diminishing propensity for complexation, leading to complexes with higher water contents and lower moduli. However, the corresponding influence of multivalent ions on polyelectrolyte complexation has not yet been explored beyond enhanced screening effects. Here, we elucidate the significant impact of the valency of the salt cation on the composition, ion partitioning, and viscoelasticity of charge-matched PECs comprising sodium salt of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride). Notably, preferential partitioning of divalent cations (Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺) into the complexes is observed, in stark contrast to the depletion of monovalent ions (Na⁺) from the complexes. Concomitantly, electrostatic bridging of polyanion chains by divalent ions is found to hinder their relaxation, manifesting as a non-monotonic evolution of the shear moduli of the complexes with increasing divalent salt concentrations. Relatedly, a failure of time-salt and time-ionic strength superposition approaches in presence of divalent ions is demonstrated, highlighting the nontrivial influence of these ions on chain relaxation behavior.     

Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles

Colloidal silica suspensions are widely used in many fields, including environmental restoration, oil drilling, and food and medical industries. To control the rheological property of suspensions, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polymers are often used. Under specific conditions, the silica-PEO suspension can create a phenomenon called a shake-gel. Previous works discussed the conditions necessary to form a shake-gel and suggested that the bridging effect of the polymer is one of the important mechanisms for shake-gel formation. However, we noted that the influence of PEO size compared to the separation distance between silica particles regarding shake-gel formation has not been systematically investigated, while the PEO size should be larger than the particle–particle separation distance for polymer bridging in order to form gels. Thus, we conducted a series of experiments to examine the effects of the radius of gyration of the PEO and the distance between the silica particles by controlling the PEO molecular weight and the silica concentration. Our results elucidated that the radius of gyration of the PEO should be 2.5 times larger than the distance between the silica surfaces in order to promote the formation of a shake-gel. This result supports the hypothesis that the bridging effect is the main cause of shake-gel formation, which can help us to understand the conditions necessary for shake-gel preparation.     

Coupling between polymer adsorption and colloidal particle aggregation

Studies of the adsorption of high molecular weight polymers on colloidal latex and silica particles and their subsequent flocculation were carried out. Neutral polyethylene oxide samples with both a narrow and a broad molecular weight distribution were used together with low charged cationic copolymers. The influence of the particle concentration and polymer dose on the flocculation were systematically investigated under quiescent conditions.Equilibrium bridging only occurred with polyelectrolyte, even in very dilute suspensions, at high particle coverage. In contrast to this, non-equilibrium bridging occurred with both neutral polymer and polyelectrolytes but only for more concentrated suspensions and small amounts of adsorbed polymer. Polymer adsorption in dilute suspensions, which did not show particle aggregation was measured an electrophoretic technique. In more concentrated suspensions, where flocculation takes place, we found that aggregation prevents further polymer adsorption and induces both an excluded volume and a surface effect. The consequences on the shape of the isotherms differ according to the aggregation mechanism.A significant decrease of the amount, , of adsorbed polymer is observed with non-equilibrium bridging. When both mechanisms simultaneously contribute to the aggregation, the value of depends on their relative importance. In the intermediate range of copolymer dose their respective contributions are critically sensitive to the details of the mixing step and stirring, leading to non reproducible experimental results.