Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025
10:12
Flash NanoPrecipitation for the Encapsulation of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Compounds in Polymeric Nanoparticles
Published on: January 7, 2019
22.3K
Solvophobicity-Driven Mesoscale Structures: Stabilizer-Free Nanodispersions.
1Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|January 18, 2023
Summary
Solvophobicity-driven mesoscale structures (SDMSs) are common, stable colloidal objects. This study reveals their universal nature, formation, and stability across various mixtures, including long-term monitoring and zeta potential analysis.
Area of Science:
- Colloid and Surface Science
- Physical Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Solvophobicity-driven mesoscale structures (SDMSs) are common, stable colloidal objects like particles and droplets.
- Despite their prevalence, SDMSs have been historically overlooked, leading to limited understanding of their properties.
- This work builds upon prior research on mesoscale solubility to provide a comprehensive view of SDMSs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the nature, formation, and stability of solvophobicity-driven mesoscale structures (SDMSs).
- To demonstrate the universality of SDMS formation in both aqueous and nonaqueous systems.
- To investigate the influence of concentration, solvophobicity strength, temperature, and mixture composition on SDMS properties.
Main Methods:
- Construction of an experimental regime diagram based on solvophobic component concentration and solvophobicity strength.
- Investigation of ternary systems (water, organic solvent, alkanes) with long-time stability monitoring (up to 3 years).
- Characterization of SDMS shape and size distributions using orthogonal techniques and analysis of surface zeta potential.
Main Results:
- SDMS formation is a universal phenomenon observed in diverse aqueous and nonaqueous mixtures.
- Experimental regime diagrams map SDMS formation as a function of key parameters like concentration and solvophobicity.
- Long-term stability (up to 3 years) and temperature dependence of SDMS were investigated, alongside zeta potential analysis.
Conclusions:
- Solvophobicity-driven mesoscale structures are universally formed and stable colloidal objects.
- Understanding SDMS formation requires considering parameters such as concentration, solvophobicity strength, temperature, and mixture composition.
- Zeta potential plays a crucial role in the stability of SDMSs, influenced by mixture composition, pH, and temperature.
Related Concept Videos
03:22Colloids
17.7K
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...
17.7K
03:00Solubility
17.7K
Solution, Solubility, and Solubility Equilibrium
A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of a solvent, the major component, and a solute, the minor component. The physical state of a solution—solid, liquid, or gas—is typically the same as that of the solvent. Solute concentrations are often described with qualitative terms such as dilute (of relatively low concentration) and concentrated (of relatively high concentration).
In a solution, the solute particles (molecules,...
A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of a solvent, the major component, and a solute, the minor component. The physical state of a solution—solid, liquid, or gas—is typically the same as that of the solvent. Solute concentrations are often described with qualitative terms such as dilute (of relatively low concentration) and concentrated (of relatively high concentration).
In a solution, the solute particles (molecules,...
17.7K
01:09Colloidal precipitates
672
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...
672
02:05Entropy and Solvation
7.1K
The process of surrounding a solute with solvent is called solvation. It involves evenly distributing the solute within the solvent. The rule of thumb for determining a solvent for a given compound is that like dissolves like. A good solvent has molecular characteristics similar to those of the compound to be dissolved. For example, polar solutions dissolve polar solutes, and apolar solvents dissolve apolar solutes. A polar solvent is a solvent that has a high dielectric constant (ϵ...
7.1K
02:28Intermolecular Forces in Solutions
34.3K
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.
When the strengths of the intermolecular forces of attraction between solute and solvent species in a solution are no different than those present in the separated components, the solution is formed with no accompanying energy change. Such a solution is called an ideal solution. A mixture of ideal gases (or gases such as helium and argon,...
When the strengths of the intermolecular forces of attraction between solute and solvent species in a solution are no different than those present in the separated components, the solution is formed with no accompanying energy change. Such a solution is called an ideal solution. A mixture of ideal gases (or gases such as helium and argon,...
34.3K