Thixotropic yield-stress fluids (TYSFs) are a unique class of materials whose properties are affected by both shear rate and shear history. When sheared, these materials undergo a transition from an elastic solid to a viscoelastic fluid, which is accompanied by a structural transition that slowly recovers upon the cessation of shear. The strong interdependence between structure, dynamics, and rheological properties in TYSFs make it challenging to identify the fundamental physics controlling these phenomena. In this study, we vary the ionic strength of a suspension of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) to generate model TYSFs with tunable moduli and thixotropic kinetics. We use a novel rheological protocol—serial creep divergence—to identify the physics underlying the yield transition and recovery of CNC gels. Our protocol identifies a critical transition that bifurcates the solid-like and fluid-like regimes of the gels to precisely determine the yield stress of these materials even in the presence of thixotropic effects. Additionally, the thixotropic kinetics collapse onto a single master curve, which we fit to a transient solution to a coupled diffusion–aggregation model. Our work thereby identifies the underlying physicochemical mechanisms driving yielding and thixotropic recovery in attractive colloidal gels.
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28 July 2023
Research Article|
July 28 2023
The effect of thixotropy on the yield transition in reversible, colloidal gels
Special Collection:
2023 JCP Emerging Investigators Special Collection
E. Nikoumanesh
;
E. Nikoumanesh
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island
, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA
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R. Poling-Skutvik
R. Poling-Skutvik
a)
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island
, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
J. Chem. Phys. 159, 044905 (2023)
Article history
Received:
April 10 2023
Accepted:
July 03 2023
Citation
E. Nikoumanesh, R. Poling-Skutvik; The effect of thixotropy on the yield transition in reversible, colloidal gels. J. Chem. Phys. 28 July 2023; 159 (4): 044905. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0153644
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