Small-angle scattering of complex fluids in flow.

ABSTRACT

Complex fluids encompass a significant proportion of the materials that we use today from feedstocks such as cellulose fibre dispersions, materials undergoing processing or formulation, through to consumer end products such as shampoo. Such systems exhibit intricate behaviour due to their composition and microstructure, particularly when analysing their texture and response to flow (rheology). In particular, these fluids when flowing may undergo transitions in their nano- to microstructure, potentially aligning with flow fields, breaking and reassembling or reforming, or entirely changing phase. This manifests as macroscopic changes in material properties, such as core-annular flow of concentrated emulsions in pipelines or the favourable texture of liquid soaps. Small-angle scattering provides a unique method for probing underlying changes in fluid nano- to microstructure, from a few angströms to several microns, of complex fluids under flow. In particular, the alignment of rigid components or shape changes of soft components can be explored, along with local inter-particle ordering and global alignment with macroscopic flow fields. This review highlights recent important developments in the study of such complex fluid systems that couple flow or shear conditions with small-angle scattering measurements, and highlights the physical insight obtained by these experiments. Recent results from neutron scattering measurements made using a simple flow cell are presented, offering a facile method to explore alignment of complex fluids in an easily accessible geometry, and contextualised within existing and potential future research questions.