Dispersion and rheology of surfactant-mediated silver nanoparticle suspensions

Polycrystalline silver (Ag) nanoparticles were dispersed in solvent mixtures consisting of 2-butoxyethyl acetate (BCA) and diethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate (CA) in a BCA:CA weight ratio of 5:1. Three commercially available polymeric surfactants were used, and the gravitational sedimentation, agglomerate-size distribution, isothermal adsorption, and rheological behavior of the nanoparticle suspensions were examined. One of the surfactants (hereafter termed 9250) was found effective in stabilizing the Ag nanoparticle suspensions. Both the adsorption isotherm and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the preferential adsorption of the 9250 surfactant molecules on the nanoparticle surface, forming a Langmuir-type monolayer adsorption in the given solvents so that a steric stabilization was rendered. An optimal surfactant concentration of 5 wt.% (in terms of the solids weight) was determined experimentally. In addition, the Ag suspensions with a broad range of solids concentration (ϕ = 1-16 vol.%) showed a shear-thinning flow character over a shear-rate range from 1 to 4000 s^-1, revealing that an attractive interparticle interaction was operative. Relative viscosity (η_r) of the nanoparticle suspensions deviated from the linearity when ϕ was greater than ∼10 vol.%; at which, the attractive potential began to dominate the interparticle interactions. This η_r-ϕ dependence was compared with various existing models and the (viscosity) predictive capability of the models was discussed.