Particle stability and destabilization

The stability of particles in water can be described in terms of the net balance between the attractive and the repulsive forces that act between a pair of particles. DLVO 

The van der Waals attraction term for two spherical particles of the same diameter and material properties is given (Benjamin and Lawler, 2013)  

DLV O theory provides a usefiil but imperfect framework for describing the stability of particle dispersions. Various extensions to DLVO theory have been made in order to address the role of additional factors that influence particle behavior, and are generally referred to as extended DLVO theory (Elimelech et al., 1998). One particularly important extension addresses the role of organic chemicals that adsorb to the surface of particles. As addressed below, the adsorption of organic chemicals to a particle may alter the effective particle size and surface charge, and may also serve to hinder the approach of two particles or alternatively the organic may attach to and bridge between particles (Li and Chen, 2012). 

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