An experimental study on the rheological properties of aqueous ceria dispersions

The rheological properties of aqueous ceria dispersions are studied experimentally. In particular, the effects of particle concentration, temperature, pH, and ionic strength are discussed. If the volume fraction is below 2%, ceria slurry exhibits Newtonian behavior, and for higher volume fractions, shear-thinning behavior is observed. The effect of temperature on the behavior of ceria slurry is found to be pH-dependent. If pH < IEP, IEP being the isoelectric point, the viscosity of the ceria slurry decreases as temperature increases, though the temperature effect is inappreciable in the range of 28 to 50 °C. On the other hand, if pH > IEP, the viscosity slightly increases with increased temperature. A shift of IEP to a higher value of pH was observed for ionic strength, even for indifferent electrolytes. The influence of pH on the rheological properties of ceria slurry decreases if the ionic strength is high. The pH at which viscosity and yield stress are maximum coincide with IEP only for low ionic strengths. The slopes of acidic and basic branches of viscosity against pH and yield stress against pH curves are not symmetrical at high ionic strength, and the alkaline branch deviates significantly from Hunter's theory. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.