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X-ray scattering measurements of particle orientation in a sheared polymer/clay dispersion

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Abstract

We report steady and transient measurements of particle orientation in a clay dispersion subjected to shear flow. An organically modified clay is dispersed in a Newtonian polymer matrix at a volume fraction of 0.02, using methods previously reported by Mobuchon et al. (Rheol Acta 46: 1045, 2007). In accord with prior studies, mechanical rheometry shows yield stress-like behavior in steady shear, while time dependent growth of modulus is observed following flow cessation. Measurements of flow-induced orientation in the flow-gradient plane of simple shear flow using small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) are reported. Both SAXS and WAXS reveal increasing particle orientation as shear rate is increased. Partial relaxation of nanoparticle orientation upon flow cessation is well correlated with time-dependent changes in complex modulus. SAXS and WAXS data provide qualitatively similar results; however, some quantitative differences are attributed to differences in the length scales probed by these techniques.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this work was provided through the NSF-MRSEC program (Grant DMR-0520513) at the Materials Research Center of Northwestern University. We thank beam line staff at DND-CAT for assistance with X-ray scattering experiments. DND-CAT is supported by the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., the Dow Chemical Company, and the National Science Foundation through Grant DMR-9304725 and the State of Illinois through the Department of Commerce and the Board of Higher Education Grant IBHE HECA NWU 96. Use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Energy Research, under Contract No. W-31–102-Eng-38.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Saswati Pujari, Leah Dougherty & Wesley R. Burghardt

  2. Department of Material Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Wesley R. Burghardt

  3. Chemical Engineering Department, Center for Applied Research on Polymers and Composites (CREPEC), Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3C3A7

    Christophe Mobuchon, Pierre J. Carreau & Marie-Claude Heuzey

Authors
  1. Saswati Pujari
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  2. Leah Dougherty
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  3. Christophe Mobuchon
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  4. Pierre J. Carreau
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  5. Marie-Claude Heuzey
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  6. Wesley R. Burghardt
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Correspondence to Wesley R. Burghardt.

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Pujari, S., Dougherty, L., Mobuchon, C. et al. X-ray scattering measurements of particle orientation in a sheared polymer/clay dispersion. Rheol Acta 50, 3–16 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-010-0492-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-010-0492-3

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