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Soft Matter

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Soft Matter, 2009, 5, 2766 - 2771, DOI: 10.1039/b823522h

Phase behavior and rheology of attractive rod-like particles

Fei Huang, Roy Rotstein, Seth Fraden, Karen E. Kasza and Nolan T. Flynn

Colloidal rods interacting with a temperature-dependant attraction are constructed by grafting the polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) to the surface of the charged, semi-flexible filamentous fd virus. The phase diagram of fd-PNIPAM system becomes independent of ionic strength at high salt concentration and low temperature, i.e., the rods are sterically stabilized by the polymer. However, the network of rods undergoes a sol–gel transition as the temperature is raised. The viscoelastic moduli of fd and fd-PNIPAM suspensions are compared as a function of temperature, and the effect of ionic strength on the gelling behavior of fd-PNIPAM solution is measured. For all fluid-like and solid-like samples, the frequency-dependant linear viscoelastic moduli can be scaled onto universal master curves.

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