Thermal rheology and microstructure of shear thickening suspensions of silica nanoparticles dispersed in the ionic liquid [C4mim][BF4]

A stable dispersion of silica nanoparticles in a common ionic liquid [C4mim][BF4] that exhibits significant shear thickening is formulated by controlling the strength of hydrogen bonding between the nanoparticle surface and the anion of [C4mim][BF4]. Colloidal stability is demonstrated to be due to the formation of solvation layers, the properties of which are determined by scattering measurements. Time-temperature superposition measurements and the onset of yielding behavior in steady shear indicate the increase of particle-particle attraction and loss of stability of colloidal dispersions above 30 °C. Small angle neutron scattering and dynamic light scattering measurements confirm the reduction in solvation layering at elevated temperatures, leading to a transition from stable dispersion to unstable, attractive gel with increasing temperature (i.e., an inverse melting transition). It is demonstrated how controlling specific surface-anion interactions through chemical functionality can be used to formulate nanoparticle dispersions in ionic liquids with specific rheological properties.