Electric field induced macroscopic cellular phase of nanoparticles.

A suspension of nanoparticles with very low volume fraction is found to assemble into a macroscopic cellular phase that is composed of particle-rich walls and particle-free voids under the collective influence of AC and DC voltages. Systematic study of this phase transition shows that it was the result of electrophoretic assembly into a two-dimensional configuration followed by spinodal decomposition into particle-rich walls and particle-poor cells mediated principally by electrohydrodynamic flow. This mechanistic understanding reveals two characteristics needed for a cellular phase to form, namely (1) a system that is considered two dimensional and (2) short-range attractive, long-range repulsive interparticle interactions. In addition to determining the mechanism underpinning the formation of the cellular phase, this work presents a method to reversibly assemble microscale continuous structures out of nanoscale particles in a manner that may enable the creation of materials that impact diverse fields including energy storage and filtration.

Reinforcing Magnetorheological Fluids with Highly Anisotropic 2D Materials.

The front cover artwork is provided by the group of Professor Keith Brown at Boston University. The image shows the magnetorheological fluid in a pressure-driven flow and highlights the length scales of the magnetic particles and highly anisotropic 2D sheets. Read the full text of the Article at 10.1002/cphc.202000948.

Reinforcing Magnetorheological Fluids with Highly Anisotropic 2D Materials.

Magnetorheological fluids (MRF) are suspensions of magnetic particles that solidify in the presence of a magnetic field. While non-magnetic additives could improve MRF performance, explorations into such additives have not coalesced into an understanding of their influence, and particularly the role of additive morphology. Here, we explore α-Ni(OH)2 2D sheets, with aspect ratios of ∼25,000, as highly anisotropic MRF additives. Experiments studying pressure-driven flow of an MRF with and without these sheets show that their addition can increase the saturation pressure by as much as 46 %. However, shear-mode rheology reveals that they can also weaken the MRF by inhibiting the chaining of the iron particles at low field strengths and have no effect at higher field strengths. In order to reconcile the strikingly different results, we propose that 2D materials introduce a non-Newtonian handle to modify smart fluids in a manner that depends on the curvature of the shearing strain rate profile. Specifically, we identify a modification to the Buckingham-Reiner model of pressure-driven flow for a Bingham plastic in which the sheets widen the solidified plug. This work highlights the subtle interaction between particles in smart fluids and flows while emphasizing the opportunity for using anisotropy to tune this interaction.

Elasticity and failure of liquid marbles: influence of particle coating and marble volume.

When coated with microscale hydrophobic particles, macroscopic liquid droplets can become non-wetting liquid marbles that exhibit an array of fascinating solid-like properties. Specifically, the force required to uniaxially compress liquid marbles depends on their volume, but it is unclear if the particle coating plays a role. In contrast, the failure of marbles upon compression does depend on the particle coating, but the conditions for failure do not appear to change with marble volume. Here, we experimentally study the elastic deformation and failure of liquid marbles and, by applying a doubly truncated oblate spheroid model to quantify their surface area, explore the role of marble volume and particle composition. First, we find that the work required to compress liquid marbles agrees with the product of the core fluid surface tension and the change in the marble surface area, validating that the elastic mechanics of liquid marbles is independent of the particle coating. Next, we study marble failure by measuring their ductility as quantified by the maximum fractional increase in marble surface area prior to rupture. Not only does marble ductility depend on the particle coating, but it also depends on marble volume with smaller marbles being more ductile. This size effect is attributed to an interaction between marble curvature and particle rafts held together by interparticle forces. These results illuminate new avenues to tailor the rupture of liquid marbles for applications spanning smart fluid handling and pollution mitigation.