Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2025

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
A low-viscous and flowable zwitterionic liquid
Mitsuhiro Shimizu1, Tetsuo Fujie1, Mayu Shibata1
1Faculty of Biological Science and Technology, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan. kkuroda@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Zwitterionic liquids have attracted significant attention in various fields due to their low-toxicity and the ability to tune their functional properties. However, despite being liquid in thermo-dynamic definition, zwitterionic liquids are not commonly recognized as "liquids" by the general public because of their extremely high viscosity, comparable to that of peanut butter, which prevents stirring even with a strong magnetic stirrer. In this study, we developed a flowable and stirrable zwitterionic liquid, OE2imOE3C. Its viscosity was one-seventeenth that of traditional zwitterionic liquids. OE2imOE3C was able to stir and dissolve 11 wt% cellulose at 100 °C, which is a task unachievable by a typical zwitterionic liquid due to their high viscosity. Furthermore, OE2imOE3C exhibited low toxicity to yeast, consistent with other standard zwitterionic liquids. This study successfully achieved a significant reduction in viscosity without compromising other properties.
Related Concept Videos
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
Types of Fluids
In contrast, non-Newtonian fluids do not follow Newton's law of viscosity, and...
Viscosity
The SI unit of viscosity is...
Membrane Fluidity
Viscosity of Fluid
Laminar Flow

