Electroactive response of mesoporous silica and its nanocomposites with conducting polymers

Electroactive response of suspensions of mesoporous silica and its nanocomposites with conducting polyaniline and copolyaniline inside its channels were examined under an electric field, mainly focusing on their rheological characteristics. Initially these conducting polymer/mesoporous silica nanocomposites were synthesized and their physical properties were studied by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and N2-adsorption isotherm. Then, mesoporous silica and its nanocomposites were dispersed in silicone oil as an electrorheological (ER) material. Typical ER behaviors of shear stress and shear viscosity curves as a function of electric field and shear rate were observed. Without an electric field, the suspensions behaved almost like a Newtonian fluid. However, under an electric field, their shear stresses increased with shear rate, demonstrating a yield stress. Compared with mesoporous silica and polyaniline, polyaniline/mesoporous silica-based ER fluid showed enhanced ER performance due to the anisotropic characteristics. In addition, it was found that a suggested shear stress model (Cho–Choi–Jhon model) well described the flow curves.