Electrorheological property and microstructure of acetamide-modified TiO2 nanoparticles

A sol-gel method has been proposed to prepare uniform TiO2 nanoparticles whose average size is about 30 nm. The prepared nanometer TiO2 particles are modified by acetamide via different self-assembled processes. X-ray diffraction analyses, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry are used to determine the structure of the nanoparticles. The results indicate that the different synthesis processes do not change the morphology of the TiO2/acetamide nanoparticles; nevertheless, they affect the interaction between amide and acetamide. The electrorheological (ER) activity is studied by shear stress under DC electric field. The acetamide-modified TiO2 ER fluid shows notable ER activity with shear stress about 45 kPa (at 5 kV/mm), which outclasses the shear stress (2 kPa) of unmodified TiO2 ER fluid. It is also found that the ER effect is very sensitive to the interaction of molecules on TiO2 particles. The chemical bond between core and shell can enhance the ER activity of the sample.