Viscoelastic properties of particle gels

The effect of strength of attraction and volume fraction on the mechanical properties of alumina particle networks were investigated. Alumina particle gels were formed reversibly and in situ in the rheometer by cooling alumina particle suspensions with adsorbed poly(12-hydroxy stearic acid) suspended in a marginal solvent, hexanol. The collapse of the polymer layer with decreasing solvency (temperature) induces flocculation when the long-range van der Waals force overcomes the remaining steric repulsion. The gelation temperature depends on volume fraction. At the gel temperature, T-gel, the gel becomes predominantly elastic; at. temperatures below T-gel, the elasticity increases with decreasing temperature. We find that the elastic modulus data, measured over a wide range of volume fraction (0.2 < phi < 0.425) and temperature (10-14 degrees C), follows: G = G(0)(phi - phi(g))(s). This scaling suggests the prefactor and exponent to be independent of temperature. We present some arguments for why subjecting a particle gel to a preshear procedure might result in an temperature-dependent prefactor. By invoking such an effect, we are able to rescale and collapse previously published moduli data on presheared suspensions according to the (phi - phi(g)) expression. (C) 1999 Academic Press.