Amir A. Farajian,1,* Olga V. Pupysheva,1 Howard K. Schmidt,2 and Boris I. Yakobson1,3 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA 2Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA 3Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA Received 19 June 2007; revised manuscript received 21 April ...

– Microscopy observations show that suspensions of synthetic and natural nanolayered smectite clay particles submitted to a strong external electric field undergo a fast and extended structuring. This structuring results from the interaction between induced electric dipoles, and is only possible for particles with suitable polarization properties. Smectite clay colloids are observed to be parti...