Abstract
This paper briefly reviews the fabrication and electrorheological (ER) characteristics of mesoporous materials and their nanocomposites with conducting polymers under an applied electric field when dispersed in an insulating liquid. Smart fluids of electrically-polarizable particles exhibit a reversible and tunable phase transition from a liquid-like to solid-like state in response to an external electric field of various strengths, and have potential applications in a variety of active control systems. The ER properties of these mesoporous suspensions are explained further according to their dielectric spectra in terms of the flow curve, dynamic moduli, and yield stress.
Highlights
Characteristics of mesoporous materials and their nanocomposites with conducting polymers under an applied electric field when dispersed in an insulating liquid
To examine the effects of the modified structure of copolyaniline (COPANI) in mesoporous nanocomposites on the ER performance compared to pure PANI, a COPANI-based composite polymerized from methylaniline with a methyl group on its main chain was fabricated using the same method for synthesizing PANI/MCM-41 [57]
This has been observed in many systems, in which the polymer filaments were synthesized within the channels of the mesoporous materials [72]
Summary
“Smart” materials that can respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, light, mechanical stress, and electric/or magnetic fields, have attracted considerable attention in both academia and industry [1,2,3,4]. Mesoporous materials possessing a uniform mesopore structure with pore sizes in the range, 2–50 nm, and extremely high specific surface areas, have been studied extensively [36] for their potential applications as catalysts [37], separation, optical materials [38], and nanotechnology since the first report of the synthesis of MCM-41 (Mobil Composition of Matter No 41) [39] These materials have significantly larger pores than conventional molecular sieves and zeolites. The ER effects in dispersions of mesostructured (filled with conducting polymers) materials were compared based on their rheological characteristics, such as flow curve, shear viscosity, yield stress, and dynamic moduli, under an applied electric field of different strengths This approach allows an examination of the contribution of polarization of a dispersed phase material formed from a porous dielectric matrix in mesoporous materials or those filled with molecules possessing certain conductivity in conducting mesoporous nanocomposites associated with conducting polymers related to the ER effect
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