Synthesis and electrorheology of emulsion intercalated PANI-clay nanocomposite

Polymer-clay nanocomposite particles with polyaniline (PANI) and Na⁺-montmorillonite (MMT) were synthesized using an emulsion intercalation method and then adopted for electrorheological (ER) fluids by dispersing the synthesized nanocomposite particles in silicone oil. Insertion of the PANI into the layer of clay was examined by X-ray diffraction, which confirmed that the conducting PANI polymer chain was aligned with the layers of clay. Dodecyl benzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) adopted as both an emulsifier and a dopant was found to play an important role for PANI-clay nanocomposite, affecting conductivity of the nanocomposite particles and their ER properties. Furthermore, ER fluids composed of PANI-clay composite were observed to exhibit typical ER behavior with higher static yield stresses under an applied electric field.