Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles
Colloidal silica suspensions are widely used in many fields, including environmental restoration, oil drilling, and food and medical industries. To control the rheological property of suspensions, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polymers are often used. Under specific conditions, the silica-PEO suspensio...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/22/7770 |
| _version_ | 1797464421299126272 |
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| author | Yi Huang Shunsuke Sato Motoyoshi Kobayashi |
| author_facet | Yi Huang Shunsuke Sato Motoyoshi Kobayashi |
| author_sort | Yi Huang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Colloidal silica suspensions are widely used in many fields, including environmental restoration, oil drilling, and food and medical industries. To control the rheological property of suspensions, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polymers are often used. Under specific conditions, the silica-PEO suspension can create a phenomenon called a shake-gel. Previous works discussed the conditions necessary to form a shake-gel and suggested that the bridging effect of the polymer is one of the important mechanisms for shake-gel formation. However, we noted that the influence of PEO size compared to the separation distance between silica particles regarding shake-gel formation has not been systematically investigated, while the PEO size should be larger than the particle–particle separation distance for polymer bridging in order to form gels. Thus, we conducted a series of experiments to examine the effects of the radius of gyration of the PEO and the distance between the silica particles by controlling the PEO molecular weight and the silica concentration. Our results elucidated that the radius of gyration of the PEO should be 2.5 times larger than the distance between the silica surfaces in order to promote the formation of a shake-gel. This result supports the hypothesis that the bridging effect is the main cause of shake-gel formation, which can help us to understand the conditions necessary for shake-gel preparation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:07:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-653bd5820ce54ac781adf26c259988ad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:07:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-653bd5820ce54ac781adf26c259988ad2023-11-24T09:20:51ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492022-11-012722777010.3390/molecules27227770Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica ParticlesYi Huang0Shunsuke Sato1Motoyoshi Kobayashi2Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba 305-8572, JapanGraduate School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba 305-8572, JapanFaculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba 305-8572, JapanColloidal silica suspensions are widely used in many fields, including environmental restoration, oil drilling, and food and medical industries. To control the rheological property of suspensions, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polymers are often used. Under specific conditions, the silica-PEO suspension can create a phenomenon called a shake-gel. Previous works discussed the conditions necessary to form a shake-gel and suggested that the bridging effect of the polymer is one of the important mechanisms for shake-gel formation. However, we noted that the influence of PEO size compared to the separation distance between silica particles regarding shake-gel formation has not been systematically investigated, while the PEO size should be larger than the particle–particle separation distance for polymer bridging in order to form gels. Thus, we conducted a series of experiments to examine the effects of the radius of gyration of the PEO and the distance between the silica particles by controlling the PEO molecular weight and the silica concentration. Our results elucidated that the radius of gyration of the PEO should be 2.5 times larger than the distance between the silica surfaces in order to promote the formation of a shake-gel. This result supports the hypothesis that the bridging effect is the main cause of shake-gel formation, which can help us to understand the conditions necessary for shake-gel preparation.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/22/7770bridging effectradius of gyrationmolecular weightdistance between silica particlesWoodcock’s equation |
| spellingShingle | Yi Huang Shunsuke Sato Motoyoshi Kobayashi Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles Molecules bridging effect radius of gyration molecular weight distance between silica particles Woodcock’s equation |
| title | Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles |
| title_full | Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles |
| title_fullStr | Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles |
| title_short | Conditions for Shake-Gel Formation: The Relationship between the Size of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) and the Distance between Silica Particles |
| title_sort | conditions for shake gel formation the relationship between the size of poly ethylene oxide and the distance between silica particles |
| topic | bridging effect radius of gyration molecular weight distance between silica particles Woodcock’s equation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/22/7770 |
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