Linear viscoelastic master curves of neat and laponite-filled poly(ethylene oxide)–water solutions

Aqueous solutions composed of dispersed nanoparticles and entangled polymers are shown to exhibit common viscoelasticity over a range of particle and polymer concentrations. Time–temperature superposition and time–concentration superposition are applied to generate rheological master curves for neat and laponite-filled aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide). The shift factors were correlated in terms of temperature and concentration and are found to differ from previous reports for ideal polymer solutions, which can be rationalized with a molecular interpretation of the structure of the laponite–polymer solutions. Laponite addition to the concentrated polymer solution is observed to increase the relaxation time but decrease the elastic modulus, which is a consequence of polymer adsorption and bridging. The addition of small amounts of laponite to stable PEO–water solutions also leads to ageing on the time scale of days.