Kinetics of string-gel formation in a system of dipolar colloidal particles

The formation of string-gels of dipolar colloidal particles is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The characteristic gelation time consistently increases as the temperature of the system increases; it also increases as the density of the system increases. This latter result suggests that the gel formation is not a simple nucleation process. In particular, the energy barriers separating the embryonic nuclei from the final phase appear to be lower for the low-density system, suggesting an important entropic contribution.