A facile electrostatic spraying method to prepare polyvinylpyrrolidone modified TiO₂ particles with improved electrorheological effect

ABSTRACT

Adding surfactants is an effective method to promote the electrorheological (ER) effect of ER fluids. However, conventional fabrication method to prepare surfactants modified titanium oxide particles was complex. In this study, a facile electrostatic spraying (ES) method was used to prepare polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) modified TiO₂ particles. The influence of PVP concentration, ejection rate, and ES field on particle size and morphology was investigated experimentally. ER fluids were fabricated with the TiO₂/PVP particles and the bare TiO₂ particles obtained by a hydrolysis method, respectively. The TiO₂/PVP particles have monodispersed size and present core-shell structure. Compared with the TiO₂ particles-based sample, the TiO₂/PVP particles-based ER fluid presents more significant ER performance, more stable shear stability, and better sedimentation stability. The electrostatic spraying method has the potential for large-scale production of high-performance ER fluids.

KEYWORDS:

• Electrorheologicalfluids
• electrostaticspraying method
• polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)
• surfactants
• yield stress

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the grant number of 51478088 and the National Key Research and Development Program of China under the grant number of 2016YFC0701102.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the grant number of 51478088 and the National Key Research and Development Program of China under the grant number of 2016YFC0701102.