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Colloids

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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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 1, 2025

Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning

Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning

Published on: April 16, 2018

Structuration and deformation of colloidal hydrogels.

S N'Mar¹, L Pauchard¹, P Guenoun²

¹Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, FAST, 91405, Orsay, France. souhaila.nmar@universite-paris-saclay.fr.

|April 25, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study identifies optimal conditions for creating uniform colloidal silica hydrogels. Controlling salt concentration and evaporation rate prevents surface instabilities, ensuring gel homogeneity.

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Last Updated: Aug 1, 2025

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Colloid Science

Background:

Colloidal silica hydrogels are crucial materials with applications in various fields.
Controlling the formation process is key to achieving desired material properties and avoiding defects.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the optimum conditions for forming homogeneous colloidal silica hydrogels.
To investigate and prevent mechanical instabilities during aggregation and drying.

Main Methods:

Modulating aggregation by adding monovalent salt to silica nano-particle suspensions.
Controlling the drying process by adjusting the evaporation rate of the sol.
Developing a phase diagram based on ionic strength and evaporation rate.

Main Results:

A phase diagram was established, defining regions of isotropic shrinkage (homogeneous gel) and surface skin formation (instabilities).
The frontier between stable and unstable regions was determined by comparing gelation time and skin formation time.
Drying stress was estimated using permeability measurements and compared to the material's yield stress.

Conclusions:

Homogeneous colloidal silica hydrogels can be formed by carefully controlling ionic strength and evaporation rate.
Mechanical instabilities arise when drying stress exceeds the material's yield stress.
The findings provide a framework for optimizing colloidal gel fabrication to avoid surface defects.