Percolation in Suspensions of Rod-like Colloids under Shear Flow

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Suspensions of electrically conductive colloids are an interesting class of materials for applications in energy storage. The practical use of such suspensions depends on their flow behaviour and their electric transport properties. Rod-like colloids show a very complex flow behaviour and the structure of the conductive networks, which they form, depends sensitively on their local alignment. Thus, changing the aspect ratio of the colloids, their size polydispersity and the viscosity of the solvent allows to tune both the rheological as well as the electrical properties of the suspension. In the proposed project we will study the hydrodynamic flow of suspensions of rod-like colloids, the percolation transition under flow and the conductivity of the resulting networks. We will use computer simulations (Multiparticle Collision Dynamics) to model the hydrodynamic interactions and we will use a new approach to percolation theory, which has recently been developed by our group, to analyse the percolation transition. The aim is to understand the interplay between flow and conductivity and, in particular, to predict conditions under which the conductive networks formed by the colloids are robust and the viscosity of the suspensions is small. To test our predictions, we will collaborate closely with two research groups in chemical engineering.