Aggregation kinetics and shear rheology of aqueous silica suspensions

Abstract

The kinetics of aggregation of silica nanoparticle solutions as a function of NaCl and silica concentrations is studied experimentally and theoretically. Silica nanoparticles form fractal aggregates due to the collapse of the electrical double layer at high salt concentrations and resulting reduction in stabilizing repulsive force. We propose a convenient model to describe the aggregation of silica nanoparticles and the growth of their aggregate size that depends on particle size and concentration and salt concentration. The model agrees well with experimental data. The aggregation of silica nanoparticles also affects the rheology of the suspension. We propose an equilibrium approach for sediment volume fraction to determine the maximum effective packing fraction. The results for the relative viscosity of silica aggregates agree well with the proposed viscosity model, which also collapses onto a single master curve.