Synthesis and electrorheology of rod-like titanium oxide particles prepared via microwave-assisted molten-salt method

The rod-like titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles were synthesized by a simple and rapid microwave-assisted molten-salt method. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the phase composition transformation from the anatase phase of original TiO2 nanomaterial to the rutile phase of high crystallinity. Scanning electron microscopy proved the conversion of originally globular particles of original anatase TiO2 sized from 200 to 500 nm into rods with a length of 5-10 mu m and a diameter between 0.5 and 2 mu m. The electrorheological (ER) measurements performed under steady-state flow as a function of the applied electric field strength and particle concentration showed that suspended rutile rod-like TiO2 particle-based fluid exhibits much higher ER activity than that of original anatase TiO2 material powder. These observations were clearly demonstrated by viewing their dielectric spectra analyses.