Preparation and electrorheological characteristics of rare earth - doped TiO 2 suspensions

Doping rare earth ion into TiO₂ has been found to enhance its electrorheological (ER) effect The typical yield stress is about 5 kPa at 3 kV/mm DC electric field. The thermal character of xerogel and the crystal structure of produced particles are characterized by DSC, TG, FT - IR and XRD techniques. The results show that the xerogels of pure and doped TiO₂ are calcined to form anatase crystalline. Rare earth ions substitute for Ti and cause striking lattice distortion in the suitable range of rare earth content. We contribute the enhancement of ER effect to the influence of rare earth substitution on dielectric properties of TiO₂.