Ultra Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Study of the Structural Changes of Flowing Conductive Suspensions (Electrofluids) under Shear Deformation

Electrofluids are a new type of soft conductors consisting of concentrated conductive particle suspensions with transient contacts. Both the structure and the deformation behavior under mechanical stress determine the properties of these materials. We propose to use Ultra Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (USAXS) to study the 3D network structure of carbon black particles in solvents with different polarity and combine it with in situ rheology experiments to investigate the dynamic nature of the networks by studying their recovery after deformation. We will correlate the fractal dimensions of the agglomerates and their changes upon shear deformation with the mechanoelectrical properties of these materials.