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Related Concept Videos

The Colloidal State01:29

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...
Colloidal precipitates01:09

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...
Colloids and Suspensions01:17

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...
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Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation02:39

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
Intermolecular Forces in Solutions02:28

Intermolecular Forces in Solutions

The formation of a solution is an example of a spontaneous process, a process that occurs under specified conditions without energy from some external source.
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Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
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Controlling colloidal phase transitions with critical Casimir forces.

Van Duc Nguyen1, Suzanne Faber, Zhibing Hu

  • 1van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Nature Communications
|March 14, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Critical Casimir forces enable active control over colloidal particle assembly, mimicking molecular liquefaction. This study demonstrates van der Waals theory accurately describes colloidal gas-liquid condensation at the nanoscale.

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Area of Science:

  • Soft matter physics
  • Thermodynamics
  • Colloidal science

Background:

  • The quantum mechanical Casimir force arises from confined electromagnetic fluctuations.
  • The critical Casimir force is a thermodynamic analogue, driven by confined concentration fluctuations in critical solvent mixtures.
  • This force mediates interactions between surfaces in critical fluids.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate active assembly control of colloidal equilibrium phases using critical Casimir forces.
  • To guide colloidal particles into liquid and solid phase analogues.
  • To investigate nanoscale liquefaction phenomena.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing critical Casimir forces for active assembly of colloidal particles.
  • Guiding colloidal particles into distinct equilibrium phases.
  • Measuring the critical Casimir pair potential directly from colloidal gas density fluctuations.

Main Results:

  • Successfully guided colloidal particles into analogues of molecular liquid and solid phases.
  • Obtained direct insight into liquefaction at small scales by measuring pair potentials.
  • Demonstrated that colloidal gas-liquid condensation accurately follows van der Waals theory, even at the few-particle scale.

Conclusions:

  • Critical Casimir forces offer precise control over colloidal assembly.
  • The van der Waals model effectively describes nanoscale colloidal condensation.
  • These findings open new avenues for active assembly of micro and nanostructures.