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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...

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...

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Creating Sub-50 Nm Nanofluidic Junctions in PDMS Microfluidic Chip via Self-Assembly Process of Colloidal Particles

Creating Sub-50 Nm Nanofluidic Junctions in PDMS Microfluidic Chip via Self-Assembly Process of Colloidal Particles

Published on: March 13, 2016

Self-Assembly of Colloidal Molecules due to Self-Generated Flow.

Ran Niu¹, Thomas Palberg¹, Thomas Speck¹

¹Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 7-9, 55128 Mainz, Germany.

Physical Review Letters

|July 29, 2017

Summary

Self-generated solvent flow creates long-range attractions between colloids, leading to molecule-like cluster formation. This assembly dynamics follows a 1/r energy decay, enabling active cluster behavior.

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Last Updated: Feb 25, 2026

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Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Published on: April 22, 2016

Area of Science:

Colloid and Interface Science
Soft Matter Physics
Self-Assembly Dynamics

Background:

Understanding emergent structure formation in colloidal systems is crucial for both fundamental science and practical applications.
Colloidal aggregation phenomena are typically driven by short-range forces, limiting control over large-scale structure formation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the potential of self-generated solvent flow for inducing long-range attractions on the colloidal scale.
To characterize the dynamics and energy landscape governing the self-assembly process.
To explore methods for imparting activity to the assembled colloidal clusters.

Main Methods:

Utilizing microfluidic techniques to generate controlled solvent flow around colloidal particles.
Employing advanced microscopy and particle tracking to observe and analyze cluster formation and dynamics.
Developing theoretical models to describe the inter-particle forces and energy of the assembly.

Main Results:

Demonstrated subpiconewton forces over millimeter ranges mediated by self-generated solvent flow.
Observed rich dynamic behavior including the formation and fusion of molecular-like colloidal clusters.
Characterized an effective conservative energy governing the assembly, with a 1/r decay at large separations.
Showcased the ability to induce active behavior in these clusters by breaking flow symmetry.

Conclusions:

Self-generated solvent flow is a viable mechanism for achieving long-range colloidal attractions and controlled self-assembly.
The observed 1/r energy decay suggests a universal mechanism for structure emergence in such systems.
The capacity to create active colloidal clusters opens new avenues for designing responsive soft matter systems.