Enhanced electrorheological activity of mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2 from activated pore wall and high surface area

To enhance electrorheological (ER) activity by improving interfacial polarization, we prepared a new mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2 ER material by a copolymer-templated sol-gel method. The material was characterized by differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric (DSC-TG) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The ER activity was studied by the rheological curve and yield stress under an electric field. The results showed that the mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2 ER material possessed a high surface area over 200 m2/g and a crystalline anatase pore wall doped by different valent Cr ions. The ER activity of mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2 was higher than that of nonporous Cr-doped TiO2. The yield stress and ER efficiency of the mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2 ER suspension was 3 times as high as that of the nonporous Cr-doped TiO2 ER suspension, 7 times as high as that of the mesoporous undoped TiO2 ER suspension, and 20 times as high as that of the nonporous pure TiO2 ER suspension. Furthermore, the ER activity of mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2 showed a dependence on surface area, and the high porosity or surface area samples showed higher ER activity. The dielectric spectra analysis showed that the mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2 ER suspension possessed a significantly larger interfacial polarizability compared with the nonporous Cr-doped TiO2 ER suspension, and the regular change of polarizability with surface area or porosity was in accordance with the change of ER activity with surface area or porosity. The improvement of dielectric properties or polarization could well explain the enhancement of the ER activity of mesoporous Cr-doped TiO2.