Effect of Liquid Properties on the Non-Newtonian Rheology of Concentrated Silica Suspensions: Discontinuous Shear Thickening, Shear Jamming, and Shock Absorbance

Concentrated particle suspensions exhibit rheological behavior, such as discontinuous shear thickening (DST) and dynamic shear jamming (SJ), which affect applications such as soft armors. Although the origin of this behavior in shear-activated particle–particle interactions has been identified, the effect of chemical factors, especially the role of liquids, on this behavior remains unexplored. Hydrogen bonding in suspensions has been proposed to be essential for frictional contacts between particles, and therefore, most studies on DST and SJ have focused on aqueous and protic organic media with a definite hydrogen bonding ability. To identify an alternative molecular mechanism, this study explored the effects of liquid polarity and an aprotic nature on the rheological behavior of concentrated suspensions of silica microparticles. Owing to their excellent particle dispersion, the DST behavior of polar liquids was observed, independent of protic and aprotic liquids. In contrast, nonpolar liquids formed particle agglomerates because of the particle–particle attraction and became a paste at a high particle fraction. The SJ behavior was confirmed for three aprotic organic liquids (propylene carbonate, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, and 1,3-dimethylpropyleneurea), suggesting the hydrogen bonding ability of these aprotic liquids. The diverse mechanisms of shear-activated interactions between particles present material design possibilities for the non-Newtonian rheology of concentrated particle suspensions.