Solid-liquid transition induced by the anisotropic diffusion of colloidal particles

We numerically study the phase behaviors of colloids with anisotropic diffusion in two dimensions. It is found that the diffusion anisotropy of colloidal particles plays an important role in the phase transitions. A strong diffusion anisotropy induces the large vibration of particles, subsequently, the system goes into a disordered state. In the presence of the strong-coupling, particles with weak diffusion anisotropy can freeze into hexagonal crystals. Thus, there exists a solid-liquid transition. With the degree of diffusion anisotropy increasing, the transition points are shifted to the strongercoupled region. A competition between the degree of diffusion anisotropy and coupling strength widens the transition region where the heterogeneous structures coexist, which results in a broad-peak probability distribution curve for the local order parameter. Our study may be helpful for the experiments related to the phase behavior in statistical physics, materials science and biophysical systems.

Theory of Electrorotation of Clustered Colloidal Particles

When a colloidal suspension is exposed to a strong rotating electric field, an aggregation of the suspended particles is induced to appear. In such clusters, the separation between the suspended particles is so close that one could not neglect the multiple image effect on the electrorotation (ER) spectrum. Since so far the exact multiple image method exists in two dimensions only, rather than in three dimensions, we investigate the ER spectrum of the clustered colloidal particles in two dimensions, in which many cylindrical particles are randomly distributed in a sheet cluster. We report the dependence of the ER spectrum on the materialparameters. It is shown that the multiple image method predicts two characteristic frequencies, at which the rotation speed reaches maximum. To this end, the multiple image method is numerically demonstrated to be in good agreement with the known Maxwell-Garnett approximation.

Clustering of quorum sensing colloidal particles

We propose a simple model of colloidal suspension,whereby individual particles change their diffusivity from high(hot)to low(cold),as the local concentration of their closest peers grows larger than a certain threshold.Such a non-reciprocal interactive mechanism is known in biology as quorum sensing.Upon tuning the parameters of the adopted quorum sensing protocol,the suspension is numerically shown to go through a variety of two-phase(hot and cold)configurations.This is an archetypal model with potential applications in robotics and social studies.

Surface-induced interaction of colloidal particles in isotropic liquid crystals

In this work,we study the interaction between two colloidal particles in a liquid crystal that is in the isotropic phase.The interaction is caused by surface-induced polarization of the liquid crystal molecules in the vicinity of the particles.We find that the interaction is short-ranged in both 2D and 3D geometry.Under symmetric homeotropic anchoring conditions,the interaction is repulsive.While under anti-symmetric homeotropic anchoring conditions,the interaction is repulsive at short distances but attractive at intermediate distances.The particle size has a strong impact on the effective interaction force.

Thermodynamic Stability of Ultrafine Monodispersed Colloidal Particles of Basic Yttrium Carbonate

A series of thermodynamic parameters in formation of ultrafine monodispersed colloidal particles of Y(OH)CO3 were measured, estimated and calculated. The thermodynamic stability of Y(OH)CO3 colloidal particles was studied and discussed by phenomenological model. It is suggested that ultrafine monodispersed colloidal particles of Y(OH)CO3 are stable only in a very narrow temporary supersaturation range ( 1<x<1 .08).

Sterically Stabilized Poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Colloidal Dispersions Doped with Different Sulfonic Acids

The preparation of sterically stabilized poly（3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene）（PEDOT） colloidal dispersions doped with different sulfonic acids is described. Three different sulfonic acids, i.e., p-toluenesulfonic acid, β-naphthalenesulfonic acid and D-camphor-10-sulfonic acid are used, facilitating the preparation of sterically stable PEDOT colloidal particles. The influences of the dopants and concentration of polymeric stabilizer on the yields, morphologies and electrical properties of the resultant colloidal particles were investigated. The colloidal particles with the size ranging from 172 to 334 nm have been obtained in good yields. The compressed pellet conductivity was as high as 4.5 Scm^-1

The structure and properties of Fe_3O_4/P (NaUA-St-BA) magnetic composite nano particles

Fe3O4/P （NaUA-St-BA） core-shell composite micro spheres were in situ prepared by soapless polymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate, with Fe3O4magnetic colloidal particles coated with NaUA. The results of IR and XRD analysis demonstrated that the desired polymer chains have been covalently bonded to the surface of Fe3O4 nano particles. The morphology analysis by TEM confirmed that the composite particles have the core-shell structure and a relatively uniform diameter of about 100nm. The magnetic properties of the obtained composite latex particles were measured by VSM and found that they exhibited super paramagnetic properties. Finally, the prepared magnetic composite particles latex is stable for several months.

A Simple and Rapid Colloidal Gold-based Immunochromatogarpic Strip Test for Detection of FMDV Serotype A

A sandwich format immunochromatographic assay for detecting foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotypes was developed. In this rapid test,affinity purified polyclonal antibodies from Guinea pigs which were immunized with sucking-mouse adapted FMD virus (A/AV88(L) strain) were conjugated to colloidal gold beads and used as the capture antibody,and affinity purified polyclonal antibodies from rabbits which were immunized with cell-culture adapted FMD virus (A/CHA/09 strain) were used as detector antibody. On the nitrocellulose membrane of the immunochromatographic strip,the capture antibody was laid on a sample pad,the detector antibody was printed at the test line(T) and goat anti-guinea pigs IgG antibodies were immobilized to the control line(C). The lower detection limit of the test for a FMDV 146S antigen is 11.7ng/ml as determined in serial tests after the strip device was assembled and the assay condition optimization. No cross reactions were found with FMDV serotype C,Swine vesicular disease (SVD),Vesicular stomatiti svirus (VSV) and vesicular exanthema of swine virus (VES) viral antigens with this rapid test. Clinically,the diagnostic sensitivity of this test for FMDV serotypes A was 88.7% which is as same as an indirect-sandwich ELISA. The specificity of this strip test was 98.2% and is comparable to the 98.7% obtained with indirect-sandwich ELISA. This rapid strip test is simple,easy and fast for clinical testing on field sites; no special instruments and skills are required,and the result can be obtained within 15 min. To our knowledge,this is the first rapid immunochromatogarpic assay for serotype A of FMDV.

Influence of colloidal particle transfer on the quality of self-assembling colloidal photonic crystal under confined condition

The relationship between colloidal particle transfer and the quality of colloidal photonic crystal（CPC） is investigated by comparing colloidal particle self-assembling under the vertical channel（VC） and horizontal channel（HC） conditions.Both the theoretical analyses and the experimental measurements indicate that crystal quality depends on the stability of mass transfer.For the VC,colloidal particle transfer takes place in a stable laminar flow,which is conducive to forming high-quality crystal.In contrast,it happens in an unstable turbulent flow for the HC.Crystals with cracks and an uneven surface formed under the HC condition can be seen from the images of a field emission scanning electron microscope（SEM） and a three-dimensional（3D） laser scanning microscope（LSM）,respectively.

Incorporated Organic Modified Ag Nanoparticles in Ormocer

Ag nanoparticles coated trisodium citrate were incorporated in ormocer by sol-gel method. The doping concentration of Ag in ormocer is about 1.0% in weight. The HRTEM demonstrated that the particles disperse in ormocer, and the size of Ag nanoparticles is 5-10 nm. The absorption band of Ag nanoparticle at 410 nm was observed.

Determination of Particle Sizes and Crystalline Phases on Colloidal Silicon Nanoparticle Suspensions

Particle size and crystallinity of silicon nanoparticles were determined by analyzing the optical extinction spectra of colloidal suspensions. Experimental results from these colloids were anaiyzed using Mie theory in connection with effective medium theory, in order to determine particle sizes and their internal structure with the simple technique of optical transmission spectroscopy. By modeling an effective refractive index for the particles, the crystalline volume fraction can be extracted from extinction spectra in addition to information about the size. The crystalline volume fraction determined in this way were used to calibrate the ratio of the Raman cross sections for nanocrystalline and amorphous silicon, which was found to be σc./σa = 0.66

Preparation and characterization of ZrO_2/TiO_2 composite photocatalytic film by micro-arc oxidation

ZrO2/TiO2 composite photocatalytic film was produced on the pure titanium substrate using in-situ Zr（OH）4 colloidal particle by the micro-arc oxidation technique and characterized by scanning electron microscope （SEM）, energy dispersive X-ray （EDX）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and ultraviolet-visible （UV-Vis） spectrophotometer. The composite film shows a lamellar and porous structure which consists of anatase, futile and ZrO2 phases. The optical absorption edge of film is shifted to longer wavelength when ZrO2 is introduced to TiO2. Furthermore, the photocatalytic reaction rate constants of degradation of rhodamine B solution with ZrO2/TiO2 composite film and pure TiO2 film under ultraviolet irradiation are measured as 0.0442 and 0.0186 h 1, respectively.

The Use of Aloe vera as Natural Coagulant in Algerian Drinking Water Treatment Plant

The purpose of this work is the study the ability of the plant material Aloe vera to act as natural coagulant using raw water obtained from a drinking water treatment plant(Mila,Algeria).Different solvents such as:NaCl;NaOH and HCl were used as chemical activators to extract the active components from the Aloe vera plant,and different coagulation-flocculation experiments were conducted in a jar test apparatus to evaluate the perfor-mance of the extracted coagulant.Also,the effect of coagulant dose on some water parameters such as turbidity,pH,total alkalinity and organic matter were investigated.The results showed that the use of coagulants obtained by using different solvents increases the coagulation efficiency compared to the coagulant obtained from the raw material,for example the maximum turbidity removal efficiency was 28.23,78.07,83.46 and 85.15%when using powdered Aloe vera(raw material),AV-NaCl(0.5 M),AV-NaOH(0.05 M)and AV-HCl(0.05 M),respectively.The results defined,that the residual turbidity obtained in this work,where the Aloe vera was used(after treat-ment by solvents)produced a turbidity lower than the Algerian standard(5 NTU)with initial turbidity(13 NTU).In this study,the infrared spectrum study and analysis has revealed the presence of different functional groups,which are responsible for the coagulation process.

Removal of Turbidity and COD from a Synthetic Water Sample by Coagulation

The main objective of this research was to study the removal of turbidity and COD （chemical oxygen demand） from a synthetic water sample. The water sample was treated chemically by coagulation. Two inorganic coagulants were used, ferric chloride and the double salt potassium-aluminium sulphate. The optimum coagulant dosage and working pH were examined. The results for ferric chloride as coagulant showed that the maximum removal efficiency （%） of COD was achieved at pH 6 with a dosage of 100 mg-L-1 and the maximum removal efficiency （%） of turbidity at pH 5 with a dosage of 500 mg.L-1. For double salt, as coagulant, the maximum removal efficiencies （%） of COD and turbidity were achieved at pH 6 with a dosage of 3,500 mg.L-1. An extensive comparison with results from previous studies was also described in this research.

Measurement of Labile Cu, Pb and Their Complexation Capa-city in Yueqing Bay in Zhejiang Province, China

The complexation capacity of Cu and Pb and their labile and organic contents were determined separately for surface seawater samples from Yueqing Bay. The samples were prepared using Nuclepore filtration method yielding <1.0μm, <0.4μm and <0.2μm particulate water samples. Our data indicated that the <0.2μm colloidal fraction is a major carrier for distribution of copper in seawater. Affinity of Cu to marine microparticles plays an important role in the process. Pb however, tends to be absorbed by >0.2μm particles. The complexation capacity of Pb with <0.2μm particulates was smaller than that with 0.2-1.0μm particulates, and averaged 11.5 and 23.0nmol/L respectively. The results suggested that colloidal particles were responsible for the distribution and concentration of Pb in seawater.

Dual template approach for the synthesis of hierarchically mesocellular carbon foams

We demonstrated a simple and effective dual-templating approach for the synthesis of hierarchically mesocellular carbon foams by using nonionic surfactant of sorbitan monooleate and silica colloid particles as sacrificial templates, and resorcinol/ formaldehyde as carbon source. The representative carbon foam has dual mesopore sizes of 4 and 10 nm, and possesses the specific surface area of 580 m^2/g and the total pore volume of 0.80 cm^3/g.

Self-assembly of latex particles for colloidal crystals

Self-assembly of latex particles is of great importance for fabricating various functional colloidal crystals. In this paper, we review recent research on the self-assembly of latex particles for colloidal crystals, covering the assembly forces and various assembly approaches of latex particles, including self-assembly by gravity sedimentation, vertical deposition, physical confinement, electric field, and magnetic field. Furthermore, some simple methods for assembling latex particles such as spin coating, spray coating, and printing are also summarized.

PROGRESS IN THREE-DIMENSIONALLY ORDERED SELF-ASSEMBLY OF COLLOIDAL SiO2 PARTICLES

Three-dimensionally ordered self-assembly of monodispersed colloidal SiO2 particles involving a structure with periodic alternation of refractive indices represents an advanced field of particuology, colloidal chemistry, materials science, optical physics and information science. Study on such self-assembly not only lays the foundation for the development of advanced functional materials, but also is significant in understanding the principles of nano- and micro-scale processes. Recent progress in three-dimensionally ordered self-assembly of colloidal SiO2 particles is reviewed, inclusive of the authors investigations.

Effects of dielectric decrement on surface potential in a mixed electrolyte solution

Surface potential is an important parameter related to the physical and chemical properties of charged particles. A simple analytical model for the estimation of surface potential is established based on the Poisson–Boltzmann theory with the consideration of the dielectric decrement in mixed electrolyte. The analytical relationships between surface potential and charge density are derived in different mixed electrolytes with monovalent and bivalent ions. The dielectric decrease on the charged surface strongly affects the surface potential at a high charge density with different ion strengths and concentration ratios of counter-ions. The surface potential based on the Gouy–Chapman model is underestimated because of the dielectric decrement on the surface. The diffuse layer can be regarded as a continuous uniform medium only when the surface charge density is lower than 0.3 C·m-2. However, the surface charge densities of many materials in practical applications are higher than 0.3 C·m-2. The new model for the estimation of surface potential can return to the results obtained based on the Gouy–Chapman model at a low charge density. Therefore, it is implied that the established model that considers the dielectric decrement is valid and widely applicable.

Principles of Surface Potential Estimation in Mixed Electrolyte Solutions:Taking into Account Dielectric Saturation

The dielectric properties between in-particle/water interface and bulk solution are significantly different,which are ignored in the theories of surface potential estimation.The analytical expressions of surface potential considering the dielectric saturation were derived in mixed electrolytes based on the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation.The surface potentials calculated from the approximate analytical and exact numerical solutions agreed with each other for a wide range of surface charge densities and ion concentrations.The effects of dielectric saturation became important for surface charge densities larger than 0.30 C/m^2.The analytical models of surface potential in different mixed electrolytes were valid based on original Poisson-Boltzmann equation for surface charge densities smaller than 0.30 C/m^2.The analytical model of surface potential considering the dielectric saturation for low surface charge density can return to the result of classical Poisson-Boltzmann theory.The obtained surface potential in this study can correctly predict the adsorption selectivity between monovalent and bivalent counterions.