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Colloidal gelation with variable attraction energy

Zaccone, Alessio ; Crassous, Jerome LU and Ballauff, Matthias (2013) In Journal of Chemical Physics 138(10).
Abstract
We present an approximation scheme to the master kinetic equations for aggregation and gelation with thermal breakup in colloidal systems with variable attraction energy. With the cluster fractal dimension d(f) as the only phenomenological parameter, rich physical behavior is predicted. The viscosity, the gelation time, and the cluster size are predicted in closed form analytically as a function of time, initial volume fraction, and attraction energy by combining the reversible clustering kinetics with an approximate hydrodynamic model. The fractal dimension d(f) modulates the time evolution of cluster size, lag time and gelation time, and of the viscosity. The gelation transition is strongly nonequilibrium and time-dependent in the... (More)
We present an approximation scheme to the master kinetic equations for aggregation and gelation with thermal breakup in colloidal systems with variable attraction energy. With the cluster fractal dimension d(f) as the only phenomenological parameter, rich physical behavior is predicted. The viscosity, the gelation time, and the cluster size are predicted in closed form analytically as a function of time, initial volume fraction, and attraction energy by combining the reversible clustering kinetics with an approximate hydrodynamic model. The fractal dimension d(f) modulates the time evolution of cluster size, lag time and gelation time, and of the viscosity. The gelation transition is strongly nonequilibrium and time-dependent in the unstable region of the state diagram of colloids where the association rate is larger than the dissociation rate. Only upon approaching conditions where the initial association and the dissociation rates are comparable for all species (which is a condition for the detailed balance to be satisfied) aggregation can occur with d(f) = 3. In this limit, homogeneous nucleation followed by Lifshitz-Slyozov coarsening is recovered. In this limited region of the state diagram the macroscopic gelation process is likely to be driven by large spontaneous fluctuations associated with spinodal decomposition. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4794695] (Less)
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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Chemical Physics
volume
138
issue
10
article number
104908
publisher
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
external identifiers
  • wos:000316543400063
  • scopus:84875153237
  • pmid:23514520
ISSN
0021-9606
DOI
10.1063/1.4794695
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
51c09e29-4a2e-41d2-acb9-0203f4e1cd7b (old id 3754146)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:22:26
date last changed
2022-01-25 22:35:37
@article{51c09e29-4a2e-41d2-acb9-0203f4e1cd7b,
  abstract     = {{We present an approximation scheme to the master kinetic equations for aggregation and gelation with thermal breakup in colloidal systems with variable attraction energy. With the cluster fractal dimension d(f) as the only phenomenological parameter, rich physical behavior is predicted. The viscosity, the gelation time, and the cluster size are predicted in closed form analytically as a function of time, initial volume fraction, and attraction energy by combining the reversible clustering kinetics with an approximate hydrodynamic model. The fractal dimension d(f) modulates the time evolution of cluster size, lag time and gelation time, and of the viscosity. The gelation transition is strongly nonequilibrium and time-dependent in the unstable region of the state diagram of colloids where the association rate is larger than the dissociation rate. Only upon approaching conditions where the initial association and the dissociation rates are comparable for all species (which is a condition for the detailed balance to be satisfied) aggregation can occur with d(f) = 3. In this limit, homogeneous nucleation followed by Lifshitz-Slyozov coarsening is recovered. In this limited region of the state diagram the macroscopic gelation process is likely to be driven by large spontaneous fluctuations associated with spinodal decomposition. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4794695]}},
  author       = {{Zaccone, Alessio and Crassous, Jerome and Ballauff, Matthias}},
  issn         = {{0021-9606}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{American Institute of Physics (AIP)}},
  series       = {{Journal of Chemical Physics}},
  title        = {{Colloidal gelation with variable attraction energy}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4794695}},
  doi          = {{10.1063/1.4794695}},
  volume       = {{138}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}