Preparation and electrorheological behavior of anisotropic titanium oxide/polyaniline core/shell nanocomposite

Anisotropic titanium oxide/polyaniline core/shell nanocomposite was synthesized via a three-step method, and its electrorheological (ER) properties under external applied electric field were researched. Firstly, monodispersed amorphous titanium oxide nanospheres were prepared by a controlled hydrolysis method and then anisotropic titanium oxide peanut-like nanospheres was obtained by using weak acid to etch the monodispersed titanium oxide sphere. At last, the surface of anisotropic TiO2 was coated with polyaniline (PANI) through an in-situ polymerization method. Then the influence factors on the preparation of anisotropic TiO2/polyaniline core/shell structure nanoparticles were discussed deeply, including different kinds and amounts of acid, the amount of aniline, and so on. The morphology and structure of the samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential analysis and X-ray powder diffraction, respectively. The electrorheological behaviors of the anisotropic TiO2/polyaniline composite particles are characterized using a rotational rheometer, which shown a good ER activity.