Polymeric Nanoparticle-Coated Pickering Emulsion-Synthesized Conducting Polyaniline Hybrid Particles and Their Electrorheological Study.

To produce an electric stimuli-responsive electrorheological (ER) material, semiconducting core/shell-type polyaniline (PANI) hybrid particles were fabricated through Pickering emulsion-type polymerization, using poly(divinylbenzene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PDVMA) particles as a solid surfactant. The PDVMA nanoparticles were initially polymerized using a self-stable precipitation method. The fabricated PANI/PDVMA composite particles were subjected to various chemical characterizations; further, they were suspended in silicone oil at 10 vol % to prepare an ER fluid, and their viscoelastic behaviors were scrutinized using a rheometer under various input electric fields. We also adopted an LCR meter to evaluate its dielectric characteristics. Our results showed that the PANI/PDVMA composite particles display typical ER performance, such that both dynamic and elastic yield stresses follow a polarization mechanism with a slope of 2.0.