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Structure of capillary suspensions and their versatile applications in the creation of smart materials

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Abstract

In this paper, we reviewed recent research in the field of capillary suspensions and highlight a variety of applications in the field of smart materials. Capillary suspensions are liquid-liquid-solid ternary systems where only one liquid is present in a few percent and induces a strong, capillary-induced particle network. These suspensions have a large potential for exploitation, particularly in the production of porous materials since the paste itself and the properties of the final material can be adapted. We also discussed the rheological properties of the suspension and network structure to highlight the various ways these systems can be tuned.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement no. 335380.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, Institute for Mechanical Process Engineering and Mechanics, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Katharina Hauf & Erin Koos

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200f, Leuven, 3001, Belgium

    Erin Koos

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  1. Katharina Hauf
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  2. Erin Koos
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Correspondence to Erin Koos.

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Hauf, K., Koos, E. Structure of capillary suspensions and their versatile applications in the creation of smart materials. MRS Communications 8, 332–342 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.28

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