Electric field induced macroscopic cellular phase of nanoparticles

A suspension of nanoparticles with very low volume fraction is found to assemble into a macroscopic cellular phase that is composed of particle-rich walls and particle-free voids under the collective influence of AC and DC voltages. Systematic study of this phase transition shows that it was the res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soft matter 2022-03, Vol.18 (1), p.1991-1996
Main Authors: Rendos, Abigail, Cao, Wenhan, Chern, Margaret, Lauricella, Marco, Succi, Sauro, Werner, Jörg G, Dennis, Allison M, Brown, Keith A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electric fields
Electricity
Electrohydrodynamics
Electrophoresis
Energy storage
Nanoparticles
Phase Transition
Phase transitions
Spinodal decomposition
Suspensions
Walls
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Summary:A suspension of nanoparticles with very low volume fraction is found to assemble into a macroscopic cellular phase that is composed of particle-rich walls and particle-free voids under the collective influence of AC and DC voltages. Systematic study of this phase transition shows that it was the result of electrophoretic assembly into a two-dimensional configuration followed by spinodal decomposition into particle-rich walls and particle-poor cells mediated principally by electrohydrodynamic flow. This mechanistic understanding reveals two characteristics needed for a cellular phase to form, namely (1) a system that is considered two dimensional and (2) short-range attractive, long-range repulsive interparticle interactions. In addition to determining the mechanism underpinning the formation of the cellular phase, this work presents a method to reversibly assemble microscale continuous structures out of nanoscale particles in a manner that may enable the creation of materials that impact diverse fields including energy storage and filtration. Nanoparticles assemble into a macroscopic cellular phase upon the simultaneous application of an AC and DC voltage. First, the particles move through electrophoresis into a 2D film and then electrohydrodynamic flows cause spinodal decomposition.
ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/d1sm01650d