How nanoscale surface physics affects emergent material properties in colloidal suspensions

Two colloidal suspensions of paucidisperse, spherical silica particles with different surface chemistries leading to extreme limits of surface contact friction are studied to identify experimental differences in shear rheology and microstructure and quantitatively test theory and simulation models. The non-equilibrium microstructure in the plane of shear is measured by flow-Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) for steady shear states spanning the shear thinning and shear thickening regimes. The shear rheology and microstructure are compared against predictions from theory for Brownian hard sphere suspensions and state-of-the-art simulation methods that incorporate either contact friction or enhanced lubrication hydrodynamics. The first normal stress differences are confirmed to distinguish between these micromechanical mechanisms.  The differences in shear-induced microstructures between suspensions with varying contact friction demonstrate that the nonequilibrium microstructure can distinguish between nanotribological interactions in the shear thickened state.  Implications for the development of theories for colloidal suspension rheology are discussed.