Colloid description

Colloidal Description. A colloidal approach combines the simple particle geometry with an explicit, continnnm approach to the forces of interaction (111-113). At the heart of this approach is a treatment of electrostatics via the Poisson equation,... 

Colloidal approaches also frequently accoimt for van der Waals interactions, ie interactions due to fluctuating dipoles. For atomic species, these interactions vary as distance to the minus sixth power. For protein/surface systems modeled via a colloidal description, this 1/r dependence is integrated over the volumes of the interacting bodies. The result is the product of a Hamaker constant, which depends upon material properties, and a term dependent on the system s geometry. In addition, forces related to solvation (114) and donor/acceptor (115) affects may also be included. 

Oberholzer and Lenhoff [32] proposed a method for calculating adsorption isotherms for small globular proteins in aqueous solution based on colloidal descriptions of protein-protein and protein-surface interaction energies. The influence of the structure of the adsorbed protein layer on the energetics was obtained through Brownian dynamics simulations. The qualitative influence of experimental variables such as solution pH, ionic strength, and protein size on the predicted adsorption of proteins was explored. 

The statistical mechanical approach, density functional theory, allows description of the solid-liquid interface based on knowledge of the liquid properties [60, 61], This approach has been applied to the solid-liquid interface for hard spheres where experimental data on colloidal suspensions and theory [62] both indicate 0.6 this... 

Colloidal particles can be seen as large, model atoms . In what follows we assume that particles with a typical radius <3 = lOO nm are studied, about lO times as large as atoms. Usually, the solvent is considered to be a homogeneous medium, characterized by bulk properties such as the density p and dielectric constant t. A full statistical mechanical description of the system would involve all colloid and solvent degrees of freedom, which tend to be intractable. Instead, the potential of mean force, V, is used, in which the interactions between colloidal particles are averaged over... 

The remainder of this contribution is organized as follows. In section C2.6.2, some well studied colloidal model systems are introduced. Methods for characterizing colloidal suspensions are presented in section C2.6.3. An essential starting point for understanding the behaviour of colloids is a description of the interactions between particles. Various factors contributing to these are discussed in section C2.6.4. Following on from this, theories of colloid stability and of the kinetics of aggregation are presented in section C2.6.5. Finally, section C2.6.6 is devoted to the phase behaviour of concentrated suspensions. 

Even when well defined model systems are used, colloids are ratlier complex, when compared witli pure molecular compounds, for instance. As a result, one often has to resort to a wide range of characterization teclmiques to obtain a sufficiently comprehensive description of a sample being studied. This section lists some of tire most common teclmiques used for studying colloidal suspensions. Some of tliese teclmiques are discussed in detail elsewhere in tliis volume and will only be mentioned in passing. A few teclmiques tliat are relevant more specifically for colloids are introduced very briefly here, and a few advanced teclmiques are highlighted. 

In Sec. 3 our presentation is focused on the most important results obtained by different authors in the framework of the rephca Ornstein-Zernike (ROZ) integral equations and by simulations of simple fluids in microporous matrices. For illustrative purposes, we discuss some original results obtained recently in our laboratory. Those allow us to show the application of the ROZ equations to the structure and thermodynamics of fluids adsorbed in disordered porous media. In particular, we present a solution of the ROZ equations for a hard sphere mixture that is highly asymmetric by size, adsorbed in a matrix of hard spheres. This example is relevant in describing the structure of colloidal dispersions in a disordered microporous medium. On the other hand, we present some of the results for the adsorption of a hard sphere fluid in a disordered medium of spherical permeable membranes. The theory developed for the description of this model agrees well with computer simulation data. Finally, in this section we demonstrate the applications of the ROZ theory and present simulation data for adsorption of a hard sphere fluid in a matrix of short chain molecules. This example serves to show the relevance of the theory of Wertheim to chemical association for a set of problems focused on adsorption of fluids and mixtures in disordered microporous matrices prepared by polymerization of species. 

Fig. 1. Schematic description of colloidal metal-catalysed reductions by free radicals...

The luminescence of macrocrystalline cadmium and zinc sulfides has been studied very thoroughly The colloidal solutions of these compounds also fluoresce, the intensity and wavelengths of emission depending on how the colloids were prepared. We will divide the description of the fluorescence phenomena into two parts. In this section we will discuss the fluorescence of larger colloidal particles, i.e. of CdS particles which are yellow as the macrocrystalline material, and of ZnS particles whose absorption spectrum also resembles that of the macrocrystals. These colloids are obtained by precipitating CdS or ZnS in the presence of the silicon dioxide stabilizer mentioned in Sect. 3.2, or in the presence of 10 M sodium polyphosphate , or surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate and cetyldimethylbenzyl-ammonium... 

The physicochemical forces between colloidal particles are described by the DLVO theory (DLVO refers to Deijaguin and Landau, and Verwey and Overbeek). This theory predicts the potential between spherical particles due to attractive London forces and repulsive forces due to electrical double layers. This potential can be attractive, or both repulsive and attractive. Two minima may be observed The primary minimum characterizes particles that are in close contact and are difficult to disperse, whereas the secondary minimum relates to looser dispersible particles. For more details, see Schowalter (1984). Undoubtedly, real cases may be far more complex Many particles may be present, particles are not always the same size, and particles are rarely spherical. However, the fundamental physics of the problem is similar. The incorporation of all these aspects into a simulation involving tens of thousands of aggregates is daunting and models have resorted to idealized descriptions. 

There are several attractive features of such a mesoscopic description. Because the dynamics is simple, it is both easy and efficient to simulate. The equations of motion are easily written and the techniques of nonequilibriun statistical mechanics can be used to derive macroscopic laws and correlation function expressions for the transport properties. Accurate analytical expressions for the transport coefficient can be derived. The mesoscopic description can be combined with full molecular dynamics in order to describe the properties of solute species, such as polymers or colloids, in solution. Because all of the conservation laws are satisfied, hydrodynamic interactions, which play an important role in the dynamical properties of such systems, are automatically taken into account. 

Most descriptions of the dynamics of molecular or particle motion in solution require a knowledge of the frictional properties of the system. This is especially true for polymer solutions, colloidal suspensions, molecular transport processes, and biomolecular conformational changes. Particle friction also plays an important role in the calculation of diffusion-influenced reaction rates, which will be discussed later. Solvent multiparticle collision dynamics, in conjunction with molecular dynamics of solute particles, provides a means to study such systems. In this section we show how the frictional properties and hydrodynamic interactions among solute or colloidal particles can be studied using hybrid MPC-MD schemes. 

This paper reviews the experiences of the oil industry in regard to asphaltene flocculation and presents justifications and a descriptive account for the development of two different models for this phenomenon. In one of the models we consider the asphaltenes to be dissolved in the oil in a true liquid state and dwell upon statistical thermodynamic techniques of multicomponent mixtures to predict their phase behavior. In the other model we consider asphaltenes to exist in oil in a colloidal state, as minute suspended particles, and utilize colloidal science techniques to predict their phase behavior. Experimental work over the last 40 years suggests that asphaltenes possess a wide molecular weight distribution and they may exist in both colloidal and dissolved states in the crude oil. 

Table 4.2 Steps for the fabrication of the colloidal crystal films and for determination of selective chemical sensing response Step Description...

Hiemstra, T W. H. van Riemsdijk, and H. G. Bolt (1989), "Muitisite Proton Adsorption Modeling at the Solid/Solution Interface of (Hydr)Oxides, I. Model Description and Intrinsic Reaction Constants", J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 133, 91-104. 

T. Hiemstra, W. H. van Riemsdijk, and G. H. Bolt, Multisite proton adsorption modeling at the solidZsolution interface of (hydr)oxides A new approach 1. Model description and evaluation of intrinsic reaction constants, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 133(1), 99-104 (1989). 

Despite their catalytic (preparative) efficiency similar colloidal systems will be only occasionally included into the present description of aqueous organometalHc catalysis although it should be kept in mind that in aqueous systems they can be formed easily. Catalysis by colloids is a fast growing, important field in its own right, and special interest is turned recently to nanosized colloidal catalysts [62-64]. This, however, is outside the scope of this book. 

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