Peanut shaped titanium oxide micro-particles achieved by cathode plasma electrolysis and their electrorheological characteristics

Abstract

Peanut shaped TiO2 micro-particles were prepared by using the huge energy of the plasma and controlling the Ti(SO4)2 concentrations in aqueous solutions via a one-step method, cathode plasma electrolysis. The morphology and structure of the micro-particles were characterized, and the tiny nanostructures about 3–10 nm were obtained on their surface, which obviously increased their surface roughness and specific surface area. These peanut shaped TiO2 particles with nanostructures on their surface were considered to be formed by the collision of two molten TiO2 particles and then the sharply cooling in Ti(SO4)2 solution. Most of all, the electrorheological (ER) behaviors of the peanut shaped TiO2 micro-particles were characterized using a rotational rheometer. Compared with the traditional TiO2 powders, the better ER effect of the peanut shaped micro-particles was attributed to their unique shape and special surface nanostructures.

Characterization of metal oxide micro/nanoparticles elaborated by plasma electrolytic oxidation of aluminium and zirconium alloys

“…Surprisingly, they did not evidence the simultaneous formation of Al2O3 particles. In addition, the synthesis of particles via cathodic plasma electrolysis processes is widely documented in the literature [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. During cathodic plasma electrolysis, a thin gaseous envelope (mainly containing hydrogen) forms around the cathode; the latter is therefore separated from the surrounding electrolyte.…”

“…When particles enter into the surrounding cold electrolyte, they usually solidify into spherical nanoballs with diameter ranging from 10 nm to 10 µm, depending on the operating material and the electrolyte chemistry [22][23]. When subsequently exposed to air, the surface of some particles gets oxidized, thus forming core-shell structures with attractive new properties like photocatalytic effects for instance [24][25][26][27]. Various metal or metal oxide nanoparticles have been successfully produced by cathodic plasma electrolysis including steel, copper titanium, zinc, silver, nickel, gold and platinum [21,28,29].…”

Photorheological fluids of azobenzene polymers for lubrication regulation

“…The viscosity of fluids is closely tied to industrial production and daily life, such as in navigation [1,2], pipe flows [3], mechanical lubricants [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11], water conservancy, and biorheology [12,13]. In particular, with the development of intelligent fluids such as electrorheological fluids [14,15], magnetorheological fluids [16][17][18][19][20], pH-sensitive fluids [21], photorheological fluids [22][23][24], and other stimuli-responsive fluids [25,26], these intelligent fluids are attracting extensive attention as smart fluid dampers for vehicle [27,28], oil and gas pipeline transportation [29], in wafer surface polishing [30,31], and friction regulation [5,[32][33][34][35][36]. However, some intelligent fluids have disadvantages, such as in electrochemical corrosion in electrorheological fluids.…”