Rheological Behaviors of Carbonaceous Materials Suspended in Sodium Alginate Solutions

Three kinds of carbonaceous materials with different structural and chemical properties, Carbon Black (CB), Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWNTs), and Graphene Oxide (GO), were well suspended in sodium alginate (SA) solutions, and the suspension rheological behaviors were investigated in details. Steady rheological results showed that the suspensions exhibited same shear-thinning behaviors as SA solution. Dynamic rheological results showed that the complex viscosity (η*) was similar to that of steady rheological measurement, and both SA solution and SA/carbonaceous materials suspensions exhibited liquid-like behaviors, confirmed by the loss modulus larger than the storage modulus. The loss factor tanδremarkably decreased for SA/GO solution compared with SA/CB and SA/MWNTs suspension at the same concentration, indicating the increase of elasticity via interactions between the GO and SA.