Apparently viscoelastic responses in a quartz crystal microbalance study of an electrodeposited non-aqueous colloid film

Abstract

The sensitivity of the quartz crystal microbalance to the rheological properties of an adherent film has been exploited in an investigation of the post-deposition structural rearrangements occurring within a film comprising sterically stabilised colloid particles electrodeposited onto a quartz crystal. Analysis of the change in the resonant frequency of the crystal, during and following deposition, indicates the film is initially composed of close-packed particles bearing adsorbed polymer chains. Over a longer timescale, osmotically driven solvation increases the inter-particle spacing. The transition is thus, in effect, from an initially elastic deposit to a highly concentrated dispersion.