文獻名： Colloidal and polymeric contributions to the yielding of dense microgel suspensions

作者： M. A. Lara-Peña^ab，A. Licea-Claverie^c，I. Zapata-González^c，M. Laurati^a

^a Dipartimento di Chimica & CSGI, Università di Firenze, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

^b División de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad de Guanajuato, 37150 León, Mexico

^c Centro de Graduados e Investigación en Química del Tecnológico Nacional de México/Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana, 22500 Tijuana, Mexico

摘要：

Hypothesis

Soft microgel colloids can be densely packed since particle networks can compress and interpenetrate. This evolution of the particle’s internal structure associated with packing is expected to determine the linear viscoelastic properties and the yielding behavior of dense suspensions of microgel colloids.

Experiments

We investigated the volume fraction-dependent linear and non-linear rheological response of suspensions of soft core-shell particles formed by a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel core and a thin poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) shell.

Findings

The linear viscoelasticity of suspensions reveals a transition from a fluid to a jammed glass state. Increasing volume fraction within the jammed state, the linear storage modulus and the yield stress show distinct regimes associated with the evolution of particle contacts, which involve progressive compression and interpenetration of the shell and core. The yielding of jammed suspensions occurs in two-steps: At small strains jammed cages are rearranged, while full disentanglement of interpenetrating networks only occurs at large deformations and results in fluidization. Yield strains and stresses increase with increasing shear rate or frequency, suggesting a progressive dominance of the timescale associated with shear over that associated with the internal dynamics of the system.

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