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Updated: Aug 6, 2025

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids
Published on: April 22, 2016
Update to the Newly Developed Expression for the Stability Ratio of Colloidal Dispersions
Yongmei Li1,2, Shuo Meng2,3, Chunguang Li1,2
1School of Resource Environment and Safety Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China.
Abstract:
The colloidal stability, one of the basic and important properties of a colloidal dispersion, is commonly evaluated in terms of the stability ratio. In this study, a recently developed expression for the stability ratio is updated, by reformulating the fraction of successful collisions leading to secondary minimum coagulation. The updated formula reinterprets the statistical meaning of the fraction of successful collisions leading to primary or secondary minimum coagulation, ensuring that the total fraction of successful collisions is always less than or equals to 1. It was shown to be superior to the available expressions in accounting for the contribution of the primary and secondary minimum coagulations on the stability ratio. It can well interpret the stability of colloidal dispersions of spherical particles; moreover, it is of great potential to be applied to colloidal dispersions of plate-like particles. In addition, this formula is found to be consistent with the concept of the critical coagulation concentration and well interpret the effects of particle size, counterion valence, surface potential, and Hamaker constant on the colloidal stability.
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