Influence of Mg²⁺ Contents on the Thixotropy of HTlc/MT Suspensions

Abstract

In this article, we found that the variation of Mg²⁺ content in the Fe-Al-Mg hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTlc) and the change of R values (R_defined = W_HTlc /W_MT) will influence the thixotropic and viscoelastic properties of HTlc/sodium montmorillonite (MT) suspensions. With increasing the content of Mg²⁺ in the HTlc samples, the storage modulus (G′) and the loss modulus (G″) of the HTlc/MT suspensions will increase gradually, which means the structure strength of the HTlc/MT suspension increases with increasing of Mg²⁺ content in the HTlc samples. In addition, the structure strength of the suspensions will increase with increasing of R values. Special emphasis has been laid on the phenomenon of thixotropy. As the gradual increase of the structure strength in the HTlc/MT suspension, the thixotropic types will change accordingly. The mechanism has been discussed emphatically.

Keywords:

• Rheology
• thixotropy
• viscoelasticity

The authors are grateful for the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK2007223).