A new approach of enhancing the shear stress of electrorheological fluids of montmorillonite nanocomposite by emulsion intercalation of poly-N-methaniline

Poly-N-methaniline/montmorillonite (PNMA-MMT) nanocomposite particles with high dielectric constant as well as suitable conductivity were synthesized by an emulsion intercalation method and characterized by FT-IR, XRD, and TEM spectrometry, respectively. The electrorheological (ER) properties of the suspensions of PNMA-MMT particles in silicone oil (20 wt%) were investigated under DC electric fields. It was found that the shear stress of poly-N-methaniline/montmorillonite electrorheological fluid (ERF) is 6.0 kPa in 3 kV/mm (74.5 s^-1), which is 3.6 times that of electrorheological fluid at zero field, and also much higher than that of pure poly-N-methaniline (PNMA) and montmorillonite (MMT). In the range of 10-90°C, the shear stress changes slightly with the temperature. The sedimentation ratio of PNMA-MMT ERF was about 97% after 60 days. Furthermore, the dielectric constant of PNMA-MMT nanocomposite was increased 3.74 times that of PNMA and 1.99 times that of MMT at 1000 Hz, the dielectric loss tangent also increased about 1.58 times that of PNMA. It is apparent that the notable ER effect of PNMA-MMT ER fluid was attributed to the prominent dielectric property of the poly-N-methaniline/ montmorillonite nanocomposite particles.