Synthesis and electrorheological performance of particle materials of doped TiO₂ with Er₂O₃

A new class of doped electrorheological (ER) materials with rare earth (RE), TiO₂ material doped with Er₂O₃ that belongs to the heavy rare earth oxide, was synthesized by the means of the hydrolysis and their compositions were determined by elemental analyses. The effects of the microstructure including the surface areas, pore volumes, pore size and crystal structure of the particles on the ER property of the materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, BET surface area analyses, dielectric property and rheological measurement. The new results have shown that the microstructure, especially crystal lattice state plays an important role in influencing the dielectric property and ER property of the particle materials, which is propitious to further understanding the mechanism of ER effect and enhancing the ER activity of a material.