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Colloids

Colloids

Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...

Colloidal precipitates

Colloidal precipitates

The high insolubility of some precipitates can result in an unfavorable relative supersaturation. This can lead to colloidal particles with a large surface-to-mass ratio, where adsorption is promoted. For instance, in the precipitation of silver chloride, silver ions are adsorbed on the surface of the colloidal particles, forming a primary layer. This layer attracts ions of opposite charge (such as nitrate ions), forming a diffuse secondary layer of adsorbed ions. This electric double layer...

The Colloidal State

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The formation of a colloidal system is exemplified by an aqueous solution containing Cl− ions is introduced to another containing Ag+ ions, resulting in the precipitation of solid AgCl as extremely tiny crystals. Instead of settling out as a filterable precipitate, these crystals remain suspended in the liquid, showcasing a colloidal system.A colloidal system involves colloidal particles within the approximate range of 1 to 1000 nm in at least one dimension, dispersed in a medium called the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Published on: August 2, 2012

Chemically tailorable colloidal particles from infinite coordination polymers.

Moonhyun Oh¹, Chad A Mirkin

¹Department of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3113, USA.

|December 2, 2005

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a novel method for creating metal-metalloligand particles. This spontaneous process yields uniform microparticles with tunable properties, opening doors for advanced applications in catalysis and materials science.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Supramolecular Chemistry

Background:

Micrometre- and nanometre-sized particles are crucial in catalysis, optics, biosensing, and data storage.
Current methods for particle fabrication often involve complex chemical processes for organic and inorganic materials.
Metal-organic coordination polymers offer tunable properties but have not been successfully fashioned into nano- or microparticles.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel and facile method for fabricating metal-metalloligand particles.
To explore the spontaneous formation and properties of these new particles.
To demonstrate the potential for tailoring particle characteristics through precursor selection.

Main Methods:

Addition of an initiation solvent to a precursor solution containing metal ions and metalloligands.
Observation of spontaneous particle formation and subsequent coalescence and annealing.
Characterization of particle size, morphology, and reversibility.

Main Results:

Spontaneous and fully reversible formation of a new class of metal-metalloligand particles.
Initial formation of nanometre-sized particles (hundreds of nanometres) that coalesce into uniform, smooth microparticles.
Demonstration of tunable chemical and physical properties based on the choice of metal and organic ligand.

Conclusions:

A simple and effective method for creating metal-metalloligand microparticles has been established.
The fabricated particles exhibit desirable uniformity and smooth morphology.
The ease of fabrication and tunability of properties suggest broad potential for these particles in various applications.