Repulsion between Two Planar Double Layers

The repulsion between two double layers is important in determining the stability of colloidal particles against coagulation and in setting the thickness of a soap film (see Section VI-5B). The situation for two planar surfaces, separated by a distance 2d, is illustrated in Fig. V-4, where two versus x curves are shown along with the actual potential. 

This subject has a long history and important early papers include those by Deijaguin and Landau [29] (see Ref. 30) and Langmuir [31]. As noted by Langmuir in 1938, the total force acting on the planes can be regarded as the sum of a contribution from osmotic pressure, since the ion concentrations differ from those in the bulk, and a force due to the electric field. The total force must be constant across the gap and since the field, d /jdx is zero at the midpoint, the total force is given the net osmotic pressure at this point. If the solution is dilute, then 

Integration of Eq. V-11 with the new boundary conditions and combination with Eq. V-27 gives 

This treatment is restricted to large ( 50 mV) and xd larger than 3. 

When the surfaces are far apart, where is small and the interaction weak, 

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