EFFECT OF RARE EARTH SUBSTITUTION ON ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF TiO2

Abstract

This paper describes a new class of water-free electrorheological (ER) fluids based on nonaqueous doped TiO 2 with rare earth (RE) in silicone oil. The thermal character and crystal structure of these materials are investigated with DSC, TG and XRD. The doped TiO 2 crystals possess anatase phase and their lattice spacing varies significantly with the content of rare earth. The rheological measurements show that the doped TiO 2 ER fluid exhibits an obviously higher shear stress than that of pure TiO 2 ER fluid under dc electric field. Especially, substitution with 10mol% cerium or 8mol% lanthanum for Ti can obtain a relatively high shear stress. On the basis of dielectric and conduction measurements, we preliminarily discuss the influence of the doping of rare earth on ER effects of TiO 2.