Colloidal systems, disperse

The following discussion, while being general in nature, is intended to apply primarily to classic colloidal systems—dispersions of small solid particles in a liquid medium (also commonly referred to as sols ). A minimum of information that gives a general conceptual understanding of the phenomena is presented below. It is intended to serve as a useful lead into more detailed information as needed. 

S. Ross and I. D. Morrison, Colloidal Systems and Interfaces, Wiley, New York, 1988. W. B. Russel, D. A. Saville, and W. R. Schowalter, Colloidal Dispersions, Cambridge... 

Colloidal State. The principal outcome of many of the composition studies has been the delineation of the asphalt system as a colloidal system at ambient or normal service conditions. This particular concept was proposed in 1924 and described the system as an oil medium in which the asphaltene fraction was dispersed. The transition from a coUoid to a Newtonian Hquid is dependent on temperature, hardness, shear rate, chemical nature, etc. At normal service temperatures asphalt is viscoelastic, and viscous at higher temperatures. The disperse phase is a micelle composed of the molecular species that make up the asphaltenes and the higher molecular weight aromatic components of the petrolenes or the maltenes (ie, the nonasphaltene components). Complete peptization of the micelle seems probable if the system contains sufficient aromatic constituents, in relation to the concentration of asphaltenes, to allow the asphaltenes to remain in the dispersed phase. 

Nomenclature. Colloidal systems necessarily consist of at least two phases, the coUoid and the continuous medium or environment in which it resides, and their properties gready depend on the composition and stmcture of each phase. Therefore, it is useful to classify coUoids according to their states of subdivision and agglomeration, and with respect to the dispersing medium. The possible classifications of colloidal systems are given in Table 2. The variety of systems represented in this table underscores the idea that the problems associated with coUoids are usuaUy interdisciplinary in nature and that a broad scientific base is required to understand them completely. 

As in previous theoretical studies of the bulk dispersions of hard spheres we observe in Fig. 1(a) that the PMF exhibits oscillations that develop with increasing solvent density. The phase of the oscillations shifts to smaller intercolloidal separations with augmenting solvent density. Depletion-type attraction is observed close to the contact of two colloids. The structural barrier in the PMF for solvent-separated colloids, at the solvent densities in question, is not at cr /2 but at a larger distance between colloids. These general trends are well known in the theory of colloidal systems and do not require additional comments. 

Foams are agglomerations of gas bubbles separated from each other by thin films (5). Mainly, the problem is concerned with one class of colloidal systems —gas dispersed in liquid—but liquid dispersed in gas, solids dispersed in liquid (suspensions), and liquids dispersed in liquids (emulsions) cannot be ignored. The dispersion of a gas into a liquid must be studied and observed by the food technologist to improve the contact between the liquid and gas phases, the agitation of the liquid phase, and most important, the production of foam 10). 

The electrokinetic processes can actually be observed only when one of the phases is highly disperse (i.e., with electrolyte in the fine capillaries of a porous solid in the cases of electroosmosis and streaming potentials), with finely divided particles in the cases of electrophoresis and sedimentation potentials (we are concerned here with degrees of dispersion where the particles retain the properties of an individual phase, not of particles molecularly dispersed, such as individual molecules or ions). These processes are of great importance in particular for colloidal systems. 

In colloid science, colloidal systems are commonly classified as being lyophilic or lyophobic, based on the interaction between the dispersed phase and the dispersion medium. In lyophilic dispersions, there is a considerable affinity between the two constituent phases (e.g., hydrophilic polymers in water, polystyrene in benzene). The more restrictive terms hydrophilic and oleophilic can be used when the external phase is water and a nonpolar liquid, respectively. In contrast, in lyophobic systems there is little attraction between the two phases (e.g., aqueous dispersions of sulfur). If the dispersion medium is water, the term hydrophobic can be used. Resulting from the high affinity between the dispersed phase and the dispersion medium, lyophilic systems often form spontaneously and are considered as being thermodynamically stable. On the other hand, lyophobic systems generally do not form spontaneously and are intrinsically unstable. 

The viscosity of colloidal dispersions is affected by the shape of the dispersed phases. Sphero-colloids form dispersions of relatively low viscosity, while systems containing linear particles are generally more viscous. The relationship of particle shape and viscosity reflects the degree of solvation of the particles. In... 

A colloid is defined as a system consisting of discrete particles in the size range of 1 nm to 1 pm, distributed within a continuous phase [153], On the basis of the interaction of particles, molecules, or ions of the disperse phase with molecules of the dispersion medium-, colloidal systems can be classified as being lyophilic or lyophobic. In lyophilic systems, the disperse phase molecules are dissolved within the continuous phase and in the colloidal size range or spontaneously form aggregates in the colloidal size range (association systems). In lyophobic systems, the disperse phase is very poorly soluble or insoluble in the continuous phase. During the last several decades, the use of colloids in... 

An aqueous colloidal polymeric dispersion by definition is a two-phase system comprised of a disperse phase and a dispersion medium. The disperse phase consists of spherical polymer particles, usually with an average diameter of 200-300 nm. According to their method of preparation, aqueous colloidal polymer dispersions can be divided into two categories (true) latices and pseudolatices. True latices are prepared by controlled polymerization of emulsified monomer droplets in aqueous solutions, whereas pseudolatices are prepared starting from already polymerized macromolecules using different emulsification techniques. 

The interfacial properties of chain-like molecules in many polymeric and colloidal systems are dependent on the conformation of the chains adsorbed at the interface (.1). Chains adsorbed at the solid-liquid interface may be produced by anchoring diblock copolymers to particles in a polymer dispersion. Such dispersions are conveniently prepared by polymerizing in the presence of a preformed AB diblock copolymer a monomer dissolved in a diluent which is a precipitant for the polymer. The A block which is... 

In 1996, Liu et al. reported the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde, an a,/ -unsaturated aldehyde, to cinnamyl alcohol, an a,/ -unsaturated alcohol, by means of PVP-protected Pt/Co bimetallic colloids prepared by the polyol process [111]. The colloids were obtained as a dark-brown homogeneous dispersion in a mixture of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, and characterized by TEM and XRD. These authors prepared different samples of nanoparticles with Pt Co ratios of 3 1 and 1 1, the mean diameters of which measured 1.7 and 2.2 nm, respectively. These colloidal systems were also compared with the single metal-... 

Not all colloid systems are stable. The most stable involve solid dispersion media, since movement through a solid host will be slow. Emulsions also tend to be stable think, for example, about a glass of milk, which is more likely to decompose than undergo the destructive process of phase separation. Aerosols are not very stable although a water-based polish generates a liquid-in-air colloid, the particles of liquid soon descend through the air to form a pool of liquid on the table top. Smoke and other solid-in-gas aerosols are never permanent owing to differences in density between air and the dispersed phase. 

Colloidal systems were reported to be much more effective than immobilized or supported catalysts for photodegradation of ary hazardous molecule [72,73], Powdered materials exhibit an important inconvenience. The main difficulty in employing an insoluble, powdered semiconductor in aqueous dispersion is the need to remove the solids after treatment and subsequent redispersion in a second aqueous solution to be purified. However, in the case of colloids it was speculated that they may either be dispersed in the irradiated aqueous solution as a colloidal suspension, or attached to a suitable support as a fixed or mobile fluidized bed [72,73],... 

Double-layer forces are commonly used to induce repulsive interactions in colloidal systems. However, the range of electrostatic forces is strongly reduced by increasing the ionic strength of the continuous phase. Also, electrostatic effects are strong only in polar solvents, which is a severe restriction. An alternative way to create long-range repulsion is to adsorb macromolecules at the interface between the dispersed and the continuous phase. Polymer chains may be densely adsorbed on surfaces where they form loops and tails with a very broad distribution of sizes... 

Various diverse systems qualify as gels if one assumes that in these systems the common features are the solid-like behavior and the presence of a continuous structure of macroscopic nature (6,7). For the purpose of the discussion in this paper, we describe a gel as a colloidal system comprised of a dispersed component and a dispersion medium both of which the junction points are formed by covalent bonds, secondary valence bonds, or long range attractive forces that cause association between segments of polymer chains or formation of crystalline regions which have essentially infinite life time (8). 

We need to understand under which conditions a colloidal system will remain dispersed (and under which it will become unstable). Knowing how colloidal particles interact with one another makes possible an appreciation of the experimental results for phase transitions in such systems as found in various industrial processes. It is also necessary to know under which conditions a given dispersion will become unstable (coagulation). For example, one needs to apply coagulation in wastewater treatment so that most of the solid particles in suspension can be removed. Any two particles coming close to each other, will produce different forces. 

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