High performance shear thickening fluid based on calcinated colloidal silica microspheres

Here, a novel method to prepare high performance shear thickening fluids (STFs) by dispersing calcinated silica microspheres into ethylene glycol is reported. The silica particles were prepared by hydrolyzing tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), and then they were treated under high temperature to remove the physically adsorbed water and the -OH groups on the surfaces. The influence of the temperature on the rheological properties of the final STFs was investigated and the STF prepared under the optimum temperature exhibited the best ST effects. A possible mechanism was proposed and it was found that a proper solvation layer adsorbed on the silica surface resulted in lower critical shear rate and higher shear thickening viscosity.