Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

The Electrical Double Layer

The Electrical Double Layer

In the region where two bulk phases meet, an intricate electric charge distribution arises due to charge transfer, ion adsorption, molecular orientation, and charge distortion. This complex distribution is commonly referred to as the electrical double layer.When a solid electrode interfaces with ions in an electrolyte solution, the speed of electron transfer dictates the rates of oxidation and reduction. The electrode acquires a charge through the escape of atoms into the solution as cations or...

The Colloidal State

The Colloidal State

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...

Continuous Charge Distributions

Continuous Charge Distributions

Imagine a bucket of water. It contains many molecules, of the order of 1026 molecules. Thus, although it contains discrete elements (molecules) at the microscopic level, macroscopically, it can be considered continuous. Small volume elements of water, infinitesimal compared to the bulk of the bucket's volume, still contain many molecules. Under this framework, quantized matter is approximated as continuous for practical purposes.
The electric charge can also be subjected to an analogical...

Colloids and Suspensions

Colloids and Suspensions

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 visible to the naked eye or seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. The suspended particles in a suspension settle out after some time of mixing. The separation of particles from a suspension is...

Coagulation

Coagulation

Colloidal solids are solid particles suspended in solution. They are usually negatively charged, attracting a compact primary layer of positively charged ions, which attract more counterions to form an electrical double layer. Electrostatic repulsion between the charged double layers prevents the particles from colliding, stabilizing the colloids. These solids are often undesirable because they can contain toxins that are difficult to remove. Coagulation is a technique that helps aggregate and...

Poisson's And Laplace's Equation

Poisson's And Laplace's Equation

The electric potential of the system can be calculated by relating it to the electric charge densities that give rise to the electric potential. The differential form of Gauss's law expresses the electric field's divergence in terms of the electric charge density.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Nanofluidic systems for ionic intelligence.

Nanoscale horizons·2026

Same author

Machine-learned many-body potentials for charged colloids reveal gas-liquid spinodal instabilities only in the strong-coupling regime of primitive models.

The Journal of chemical physics·2026

Same author

Optical voltammetry of redox processes inside a nanohole with opto-iontronic microscopy.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Learned free-energy functionals from pair-correlation matching for dynamical density functional theory.

Physical review. E·2025

Same author

Machine learning many-body potentials for charged colloids in primitive 1:1 electrolytes.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025

Same author

Ion selectivity in uncharged tapered nanoslits through heterogeneous water polarization.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Finite Element Modelling of a Cellular Electric Microenvironment

Finite Element Modelling of a Cellular Electric Microenvironment

Published on: May 18, 2021

Poisson-Boltzmann cell model for heterogeneously charged colloids.

Eelco Eggen¹, René van Roij

¹Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, Leuvenlaan 4, 3584 CE Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

|November 13, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed a new Poisson-Boltzmann cell model for colloids with uneven surface charges. This model shows that liquid-like colloidal phases with heterogeneous charges remain isotropic, lacking particle orientation.

More Related Videos

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: October 24, 2017

Label-free Isolation and Enrichment of Cells Through Contactless Dielectrophoresis

Label-free Isolation and Enrichment of Cells Through Contactless Dielectrophoresis

Published on: September 3, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Finite Element Modelling of a Cellular Electric Microenvironment

Finite Element Modelling of a Cellular Electric Microenvironment

Published on: May 18, 2021

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: October 24, 2017

Label-free Isolation and Enrichment of Cells Through Contactless Dielectrophoresis

Label-free Isolation and Enrichment of Cells Through Contactless Dielectrophoresis

Published on: September 3, 2013

Area of Science:

Colloid Science
Statistical Mechanics
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Colloidal particles are crucial in various materials.
Understanding their behavior requires accurate theoretical models.
Existing models often assume uniform surface charges.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a generalized Poisson-Boltzmann cell model for spherical colloids.
To account for heterogeneous surface charge distributions on colloidal particles.
To investigate the implications for phase behavior and ordering.

Main Methods:

Generalizing existing cell models for colloidal mixtures.
Applying the Poisson-Boltzmann equation to heterogeneous spherical particles.
Comparing model predictions with Onsager's second-virial theory for liquid crystals.

Main Results:

The developed model successfully describes colloids with heterogeneous surface charges.
The model predicts no orientational ordering in the absence of positional ordering.
This indicates that liquid-like phases of heterogeneously charged colloids are isotropic.

Conclusions:

The Poisson-Boltzmann cell model provides a new framework for studying complex colloidal systems.
Heterogeneous surface charges fundamentally influence colloidal phase behavior.
The findings suggest a direct link between translational and orientational order in these systems.