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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...

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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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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).
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Colloids and Suspensions

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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 visible to the naked eye or seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. The suspended particles in a suspension settle out after some time of mixing. The separation of particles from a suspension is...

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Methods for the Self-integration of Megamolecular Biopolymers on the Drying Air-LC Interface

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Published on: April 7, 2017

Self-stratification and phase separation in drying binary colloidal films.

Ellard Hooiveld¹, Lisa Rijnders¹, Berend van der Meer¹

¹Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, Wageningen, 6708 WE, the Netherlands.

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

|October 25, 2024

Summary

Researchers achieved both self-stratification and micro-phase separation in colloidal films during drying. This simultaneous size segregation offers a new strategy for creating customizable, functional coatings with tailored properties.

Keywords:

Binary colloidal films Diffusiophoresis Dispersion drying In-situ confocal imaging Multi-component coatings Non-equilibrium thermodynamics Phase separation Stratification

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Methods for the Self-integration of Megamolecular Biopolymers on the Drying Air-LC Interface

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Published on: September 4, 2015

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Colloid Science
Soft Matter Physics

Background:

Drying colloidal films can develop compositional heterogeneity for tailored functionalities.
Spontaneous size segregation of colloidal particles, including self-stratification and micro-domain formation, are known mechanisms.
These segregation phenomena have not been studied concurrently in binary colloidal films during evaporation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the concurrent occurrence of self-stratification and micro-domain formation in binary colloidal films during drying.
To understand the influence of various parameters on the emergence of compositional heterogeneity.

Main Methods:

Utilized real-time 3D confocal fluorescence microscopy.
Quantitatively analyzed the effects of particle size ratio, initial volume fraction, evaporation rate, and salt concentration.

Main Results:

Micro-phase separation becomes dominant beyond a critical particle size ratio.
Initial volume fraction significantly impacts self-stratification but not domain size.
Reduced evaporation rate increases domain size and decreases stratification.
Decreased colloidal electrostatic interaction enhances phase separation but reverses stratification.

Conclusions:

Demonstrated a single-step method to achieve both self-stratification and micro-domain formation in drying binary colloidal films.
Identified key parameters controlling these segregation mechanisms.
Established a foundation for developing customizable self-partitioning coatings with tunable functionalities.