Uniform distribution of graphene oxide sheets into a poly-vinylidene fluoride nanoparticle matrix through shear-driven aggregation

A general methodology has been developed for preparing nanocomposites with uniform, random distribution of fillers in polymer matrices, purely based on intense shear-driven aggregation, while avoiding filler aggregation. This procedure is demonstrated for a binary colloid composed of graphene oxide (GO) sheets and poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanoparticles (NPs), both negatively charged and stable at rest. On the other hand, the PVDF NPs are shear-active (i.e. aggregation occurs under intensive shear), while the GO sheets are shear-inactive. It is found that when the two suspensions are mixed and the resulting binary colloid is forced to pass through a microchannel (MC) device (at a very high shear rate, G = 1.2 × 10(6) s(-1)), the shear-inactive GO sheets are captured and well distributed inside the PVDF NP clusters or gels. In addition, it is shown that in order to have 100% capture efficiency for the GO sheets, a minimum solid content of the binary colloid is required, which can be identified experimentally as the minimum leading to gelation after passing through the MC only one time.

Snapshotted glass and gel transitions of stable colloidal dispersions after shear-driven aggregation in a microchannel

Intense shear can lead to aggregation of colloids that are highly stable at rest. The aggregation process typically has an induction time, and then becomes explosive, leading to rapid phase transitions. We study the phase evolution during shear-driven aggregation in a short microchannel (MC) under intense shear for a colloid with a high interaction energy barrier that ensures high stability of particles and clusters before and after intense shear. The short residence time allows us to snapshot the phase evolution by repeatedly cycling the colloid in the MC. It is found that, depending on the particle concentration, in addition to a fluid of clusters and a solid-like gel, there is another solid-like state between them: Wigner glass of clusters. Their transitions occur over a large range of particle concentrations. We have proposed a phase diagram that describes how the transitions of the three phases evolve in the aggregation steady state in the colloidal interaction vs. particle concentration plane.