Poly(ionic liquid) particles, which are synthesized by microwave-assisted dispersion polymerization, show high electrorheological activity due to large dielectric polarization of the high-density of cation/anion parts.

Electric field-induced particle polarization is essential to the electro-responsive electrorheological (ER) effect of particle suspensions. In this work, we use graphene oxide (GO) as a soft and polar coating shell to prepare GO-wrapped titania dielectric microspheres for use as the dispersal phase of an ER suspension. Under a DC electric field, the ER characteristic of GO-wrapped titania microspheres dispersed in silicone oil is investigated by rheological tests, and then compared with that of a suspension of bare titania microspheres. The results show that the suspension of GO-wrapped titania microspheres possesses an enhanced ER characteristic. Its field-induced shear yield stress and storage modulus are much higher than those of the suspension of bare titania microspheres. The soft and polar GO shell is regarded as the origin of the ER enhancement. Dielectric analysis indicates that wrapping GO can enhance the interfacial polarization and thus improve the ER characteristics of titania microspheres. Wrapping GO onto the surface of titania microspheres can also reduce the particle sedimentation velocity of the suspension.

Poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) show potential as new anhydrous polyelectrolyte-based smart electrorheological (ER) materials. Understanding the structure-property relationship on a molecular level is very important for guiding the design of PIL-based ER materials. In this paper, a family of (p-vinylbenzyl)trialkylammonium hexafluorophosphate-based PIL particles containing different length of substituent alkyl chains attached to immobile ammonium charged site is synthesized for especially understanding the size effect of side chains on ER property. To exclude the particle shape effect, the PIL particles are controlled to be monodisperse sphere-like morphology with a similar size. The ER property of PIL particles when dispersed in insulating oil is investigated and compared by temperature-modulated rheological test under external electric fields. The dielectric spectroscopy is finally performed to study the mechanism behind the size effect of side chains on the ER property of PIL particles. We demonstrate that the size of side chains on the charged site has a significant impact on the ER effect of PIL particles and the PIL particles with shorter side chains have stronger ER property but degraded temperature dependence, and this is related to the fact that the variation of side chain size alters the transport dynamic of mobile counterions and ion motion-induced interfacial polarization.

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