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Related Concept Videos

Colloidal precipitates01:09

Colloidal precipitates

4.9K
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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Coagulation01:06

Coagulation

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Colloidal solids are solid particles suspended in solution. They are usually negatively charged, attracting a compact primary layer of positively charged ions, which attract more counterions to form an electrical double layer. Electrostatic repulsion between the charged double layers prevents the particles from colliding, stabilizing the colloids. These solids are often undesirable because they can contain toxins that are difficult to remove. Coagulation is a technique that helps aggregate and...
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Colloids03:22

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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Precipitate Formation and Particle Size Control01:16

Precipitate Formation and Particle Size Control

5.3K
In precipitation gravimetry, the precipitating agent should react specifically or selectively with the analyte. While a specific reagent reacts with the analyte alone, a selective reagent can react with a limited number of chemical species.
The obtained precipitate should be either a pure substance of known composition or easily converted to one by a simple process, such as ignition or drying. In addition, the precipitate should be insoluble and easily filterable. In general, filterability...
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Ion Exchange01:17

Ion Exchange

1.1K
Ion exchange chromatography separates charged molecules from a solution by reversibly exchanging them with mobile, or 'active', ions associated with the oppositely charged stationary phase. This method can be used to separate ions, soften and deionize water, and purify solutions. The polymers comprising the ion-exchange column are high-molecular-weight and chemically stable polymers, crosslinked to be porous and essentially insoluble. They are also functionalized with either acidic or...
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Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria01:10

Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria

2.2K
Recrystallization is a purification technique used to separate impurities from solid compounds. In this technique, no chemical reactions occur. Instead, it exploits physical properties only, specifically, the solubility differences between the desired compound and impurities, either at a single temperature or at different temperatures, and under other selected conditions. The solid-solution equilibrium (solubility equilibrium) of each component in the solution represents a binary phase...
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Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids
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Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

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Polymorph selection in charged colloids in the second nucleation step.

C Patrick Royall1

  • 1Gulliver UMR CNRS 7083, ESPCI Paris, Université PSL, 75005 Paris, France.

The Journal of Chemical Physics
|January 14, 2026
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Colloidal crystals exhibit a hexagonal precursor structure before forming stable body-centered cubic or face-centered cubic polymorphs. This ordering occurs regardless of interaction range, with the stable crystal emerging in a subsequent stage.

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Area of Science:

  • Colloid and interface science
  • Computational physics
  • Crystallization dynamics

Background:

  • Polymorph selection is crucial in colloidal systems, influencing material properties.
  • Understanding nucleation pathways requires analyzing pre-nucleation structures.
  • Charged colloids provide a tunable model system for studying phase transitions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate polymorph selection in charged colloids.
  • To characterize the higher-order structure during nucleation.
  • To identify precursor states and their role in crystal formation.

Main Methods:

  • Molecular dynamics simulations of a repulsive Yukawa system.
  • Utilized Weeks-Chandler-Andersen softening for the core potential.
  • Employed topological cluster classification (TCC) and bond orientational order parameters (Lechner-Dellago) for structure identification.

Main Results:

  • A hexagonal precursor state forms under high supersaturation, irrespective of the stable polymorph (BCC or FCC).
  • This precursor structure is indistinguishable from hexagonal close-packed (HCP) using bond orientational order parameters.
  • The stable polymorph nucleates and grows from this precursor phase in a distinct second stage.

Conclusions:

  • The formation of a hexagonal precursor is a general feature in this colloidal model, preceding the stable BCC or FCC crystal.
  • The higher-order structure of metastable fluids near nucleation is similar across different interaction ranges when analyzed with TCC.
  • This highlights the importance of precursor ordering in understanding crystallization pathways in colloidal systems.