Electrorheological Effect of Titania-Coated Kaolinite Nanocomposite Particles

Kaolinite/TiO_2 nanocomposite particles were prepared by sol-gel technique. The analysis of XRD,FT-IR and SEM shows that the surface of kaolinite is coated by nano-TiO_2 crystal. Furthermore the electrorheological effect is associated with the TiO_2 mass percent in the nanocomposite particle. When the content of TiO_2 in the composite is 34%, E=3kV/mm, and volume fraction is 25%, the yield stress of kaolinite/TiO_2 nanocomposite ERF is 3.4 kPa, which is 5 times of that of kaolinite.