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Gel transition in adhesive hard-sphere colloidal dispersions: the role of gravitational effects
Jung Min Kim1, Jun Fang2, Aaron P R Eberle3
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Center for Neutron Science, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
Abstract:
The role of gravity in gelation of adhesive hard spheres is studied and a critical criterion developed for homogeneous gelation within the gas-liquid binodal. We hypothesize that gelation by Brownian diffusion competes with phase separation enhanced by gravitational settling. This competition is characterized by the gravitational Péclet number Pe(g), which is a function of particle size, volume fraction, and gravitational acceleration. Through a systematic variation of the parameters, we observe the critical Pe(g) of ∼ 0.01 can predict the stability of gels composed of adhesive hard spheres.
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