AUTHOR=Ti Gang , Fan Yi , Tang Jian , Niu Chenguang , Xiong Xiaoyan 

TITLE=Preparation and enhanced electrorheological properties of elastomers filled with rod-shaped TiO2 particles

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Materials

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/materials/articles/10.3389/fmats.2023.1331513

DOI=10.3389/fmats.2023.1331513

ISSN=2296-8016

ABSTRACT=<p>The morphology of dispersed particles has been proven to have a significant impact on performance of electrorheological (ER) materials, while there is a lack of relevant research on its impact on the properties of electrorheological elastomers (EREs). In this study, the TiO<sub>2</sub> particles with spherical, short rod, and long rod shape were fabricated with sol-gel method, and the EREs were prepared with these three kinds of particles as dispersion phase. Particle characterization results show that the rod-shape TiO<sub>2</sub> particles with larger average size exhibit a combination of anatase and brookite phase. The viscoelastic properties of three types of EREs under varying strain amplitude and shear frequency were tested. The results indicate that the long rod-shape TiO<sub>2</sub> particles filled EREs shows higher storage modulus <italic>G</italic>′ and higher relative ER effect within the electric field from 0 to 3 kV/mm. The observations indicate the use of rod-shape TiO<sub>2</sub> particles in the form of brookite phase may help enhance the ER properties of elastomers. The investigation contributes to the designing, preparation, and application of anisotropic ERE.</p>