Reduction in the Repulsive Forces between Two Charged Surfaces in Aqueous Solutions Containing Salts by a Liquid Flow

In spite of the fact that a flow is often present in the liquid in which charged particles are dispersed, the effect of a flow on the forces controlling the dispersion is not clear. Here, we used a combined atomic force microscope-peristaltic pump system to determine the effect of a flow in aqueous solutions between a negatively charged silica particle and a negatively charged silicon wafer on the forces in the system. The effect of a flow on the forces in water or aqueous solutions of NaCl or MgCl₂·6H₂O was studied for salt concentrations lower than the concentrations needed to invert the charge of the silica and silicon surfaces. This was done to prevent the formation of a reversed flow in the system due to a charge inversion of the silica surface. A flow was seen to decrease the intersurface repulsive forces, if the water contained salt (NaCl or MgCl₂·6H₂O). An increased bulk salt concentration was also seen to decrease the repulsive forces further in the presence of a liquid flow. The surface potentials and effective ionic concentrations of the systems were determined by comparing the experimental curves with the theoretically calculated ones. The surface potentials and effective ionic concentrations were seen to decrease and increase, respectively, as the flow rate and bulk salt concentrations were increased. This change was explained by the shrinking of the diffuse layers by the liquid flow, due to part of the diffuse layer being washed away by the flowing liquid.