A Small Angle Neutron Scattering Study of a Clay Suspension under Shear

Analysis of small‐angle scattering of suspensions of organically modified montmorillonite: Implications to phase behavior of polymer nanocomposites

“…Thus, this behavior must reflect the influence of interparticle scattering, and the relatively large power‐law behavior may represent an onset of a Guinier regime62–65 at q <0.01 nm −1 arising from stack–stack association. Sample preparation procedures and aging of the gel may influence this suprastructure and account for the range of power‐law behavior (2 < −m < 3) found in the literature 30–36…”

“…The phase behavior, stability, and structure of aqueous montmorillonite gels have been extensively investigated30–35, 78–84 because of its historical importance in soil science, extensive utilization in drilling fluids, and ideal representation of a discotic dispersion. Interparticle interactions in aqueous media are dominated by long‐range electrostatic interactions and depend critically on the pH and electrolyte concentration as well as the differences between the layer's anionic siloxane surface and cationic Bronstaed acidic edge.…”

“…This enabled the development of a morphological model for aqueous dispersions, both statically and under shear. Ramsey and coworkers32, 33 and Hanley et al34 went even further and extended the general scattering theory for anisotropic particles by Hayter and Penfold35 to the case of partially aligned monodisperse plates for interpretation of scattering from aligned aqueous laponite and montmorillonite dispersions, respectively. Ho et al36 expanded previous studies on lamella block copolymers to interpret small‐angle neutron scattering of clay dispersions.…”

Small-Angle Scattering Techniques

“…Some preferential alignment may persist at distances higher than 10 2 nm under equilibrium conditions. Similarly, Hanley et al (1994) carried out a SANS study of a 1 mass% dispersion of Na þ -Mt using the instrument at CNR (Cold Neutron Research) facility of the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), USA. The spectra were recorded on a 2D detector.…”

Towards a methodology for the characterisation of the fabric of wet clays using X-ray scattering

“…A major advantage is that there is no need for detrimental preparation procedures that can alter the micro-structure of the specimen. Scattering has been previously used for the study of low concentration single mineral clay suspensions [10][11][12]. Dense solid colloid systems, such as consolidated clay, however, have not been systematically probed using scattering methods.…”