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Model filled rubber. I: Effect of particle morphology on suspension rheology
Author(s) -
Cai Jianfen J.,
Salovey Ronald
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.11564
Subject(s) - materials science , rheology , particle (ecology) , composite material , particle size , suspension (topology) , emulsion polymerization , chemical engineering , divinylbenzene , viscosity , natural rubber , polystyrene , polymer chemistry , polymerization , copolymer , styrene , polymer , oceanography , mathematics , homotopy , pure mathematics , engineering , geology
Monodispersed polystyrene (PS) particels, crosslinked with divinylbenzene (DVB), were prepared by emulsifier‐free emulsion polymerization. The colloidal‐suspension rheology of a low‐molecular‐weight liquid polysulfide, which is used in commercial sealants, filled with these PS particles varying in size and particle‐crosslink density, was studied. At low frequencies or shear rates, the dynamic moduli and viscosity increased as particle diameter decreased from 1.25 to 0.315 μm or particle crosslink density increased from 0 to 5 mole% DVB. We suggest that particle‐particle interactions are dominant and lead to the formation of clusters in the concentrated suspension. Rheological properties associated with network buildup in suspensions were most sensitively monitored by a kinetic‐recovery experiment. The strength of, as well as the tendency for, cluster network formation in the colloidal suspensions increases with decreasing particle size, and increasing particle‐crosslink density, or decreasing surface roughness.