Full Description
Colloid-polymer mixtures are subject of intensive research due to their wide range of applicability, for instance in coatings and food-stuffs. This thesis constitutes a fundamental investigation towards a better control over the stability of such suspensions. Through the chapters, different key parameters governing the stability of colloid-polymer mixtures are explored. How the colloid (pigment) shape and the effective polymer-colloid affinity modulate the stability of the suspension are examples of these key parameters. Despise the mostly theoretical results presented, the thesis is written in a format accessible to a broad scientific audience. Some of the equations of state presented might of direct use to experimentalists. Furthermore, new theoretical insights about colloid-polymer mixtures are put forward. These include four-phase coexistences in effective two-component, quantification of depletant partitioning at high colloidal concentrations, multiple re-entrant phase behaviour of the colloidal fluid-solid coexistence, and a condition where polymers are neither depleted nor adsorbed from/to the colloidal surface.
Contents
Introduction.- Part 1: Spherical Colloids.- Tuning the Phase Diagram of Colloid-polymer Mixtures.- Depletion-driven Solid-solid Coexistence in Colloid-polymer Mixtures.- Unipletion in Colloid-polymer Mixtures.- Part 2: Anisotropic Hard Colloids.- Superballs Mixed with Non-Adsorbing Polymers.- Discotic Dispersions Mediated by Depletion.- Part 3: Spherical Association Colloids.- On the Colloidal Stability of Association Colloids.- Polymer-mediated Stability of Micellar Suspensions.
