Colloidal systems involving

Yasunaga has studied colloidal systems involving titanium dioxide. What I find very curious if that he reports that the recombination rate of hydroxyl ions reacting with the titanium is orders of magnitude smaller than what one finds in other systems, including ice, of course, and other solutions. I was wondering whether you have any comment. 

Enzyme catalysis. Enzymes are proteins, polymers of amino acids, which catalyze reactions in living organisms-biochemical and biological reactions. The systems involved may be colloidal-that is, between homogeneous and heterogeneous. Some enzymes are very specific in catalyzing a particular reaction (e.g., the enzyme sucrase catalyzes the inversion of sucrose). Enzyme catalysis is usually molecular catalysis. Since enzyme catalysis is involved in many biochemical reactions, we treat it separately in Chapter 10. 

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. 

In the past decade, much development has taken place in regard to measuring the forces involved in these colloidal systems. In one method, the procedure used is to measure the force present between two solid surfaces at very low distances (less than micrometer). The system can operate under water, and thus the effect of addictives has been investigated. These data have provided verification of many aspects of the DLVO theory. Recently, the atomic force microscope (AFM) has been used to measure these colloidal forces directly (Birdi, 2002). Two particles are brought closer, and the force (nanoNewton) is measured. In fact, commercially available apparatus are designed to perform such analyses. The measurements can be carried out in fluids and under various experimental conditions (such as added electrolytes, pH, etc.). 

The essential differences between the properties of matter when in bulk and in the colloidal state were first described by Thomas Graham. The study of colloid chemistry involves a consideration of the form and behaviour of a new phase, the interfacial phase, possessiug unique properties. In many systems reactions both physical and chemical are observed which may be attributed to both bulk and interfacial phases. Thus for a proper understanding of colloidal behaviour a knowledge of the properties of surfaces and reactions at interfaces is evidently desirable. 

The successful application of food-grade biopolymers in the formulation of the next generation of smart delivery systems requires sound insight into the various intermolecular and colloidal interactions involved in the food matrix, along with some knowledge of the bioavailability in vivo. Furthermore, the impact of incorporated nutraceuticals on all the properties of a formulated functional food — appearance, physical/chemical stability, texture, mouthfeel, taste, flavour, bioavailability, and health impact — need to be simultaneously considered and addressed in order to achieve a balanced and acceptable solution for consumers. 

Just as with osmotic pressure, the membranes in dialysis must be carefully selected to be compatible with the system under study. Specifically, this amounts to impermeability with respect to the colloid(s) involved and permeability with respect to low molecular weight components. 

We noted above that many systems of interest in colloid chemistry involve intermediate values of kRs, so Henry s equation fills an important gap. At the same time it explicitly introduces additional restrictions (a) low potentials and (b) undistorted double layers. A topic of consid-... 

Heterogeneous semiconductor systems involve either suspensions or slurries of larger-sized semiconductor powders, or smaller colloids in solution. In principle, these semiconductor particles may act as tiny photoelectrolysis cells, similar to the photoelectrochemical systems discussed above. However, as many of the materials used for bulk electrodes are also described here in particulate form, both similar and new problems may arise, most notably irreproducibility in particle preparation, stability issues, and low C02 reduction rates. 

The range of colloidal systems of practical importance is vast, as is the range of processes where colloid/surface chemical phenomena are involved. 

The surface or interfacial phenomena associated with colloidal systems such as emulsions and foams are often studied by means of experiments on artificially prepared flat surfaces rather than on the colloidal systems themselves. Such methods provide a most useful indirect approach to the various problems involved. 

The application of light scattering to the characterisation of colloidal systems has advanced rapidly over the last few decades. This has been made possible by the development of (a) lasers as intense, coherent and well-collimated light sources, (b) sophisticated electronic devices for recording data, and (c) computers for the complex data processing that is involved. 

As discussed in Chapters 1-7, diffusion, Brownian motion, sedimentation, electrophoresis, osmosis, rheology, mechanics, interfacial energetics, and optical and electrical properties are among the general physical properties and phenomena that are primarily important in colloidal systems [12,13,26,57,58], Chemical reactivity and adsorption often play important, if not dominant, roles. Any physical chemical feature may ultimately govern a specific industrial process and determine final product characteristics, and any colloidal dispersions involved may be deemed either desirable or undesirable based on their unique physical chemical properties. Chapters 9-16 will provide some examples. 

Emulsions and suspensions are colloidal dispersions of two or more immiscible phases in which one phase (disperse or internal phase) is dispersed as droplets or particles into another phase (continuous or dispersant phase). Therefore, various types of colloidal systems can be obtained. For example, oil/water and water /oil single emulsions can be prepared, as well as so-called multiple emulsions, which involve the preliminary emulsification of two phases (e.g., w/o or o/w), followed by secondary emulsification into a third phase leading to a three-phase mixture, such as w/o/w or o/w/o. Suspensions where a solid phase is dispersed into a liquid phase can also be obtained. In this case, solid particles can be (i) microspheres, for example, spherical particles composed of various natural and synthetic materials with diameters in the micrometer range solid lipid microspheres, albumin microspheres, polymer microspheres and (ii) capsules, for example, small, coated particles loaded with a solid, a liquid, a solid-liquid dispersion or solid-gas dispersion. Aerosols, where the internal phase is constituted by a solid or a liquid phase dispersed in air as a continuous phase, represent another type of colloidal system. 

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