Year: 2006
Type: article
Abstract: We present molecular dynamics simulations of aggregation kinetics in a colloidal suspension modeled as a highly asymmetric binary mixture. Starting from a configuration with largely uncorrelated colloidal particles the system relaxes by coagulation-fragmentation dynamics to a structured state of low-dimensionality clusters with an exponential size distribution. The results show that short-range repulsive interactions alone can give rise to so-called cluster phases. For the present model and probably other, more common colloids, the observed clusters appear to be equilibrium phase fluctuations induced by the entropic intercolloidal attractions.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Author: Sorin Bastea
Institution: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1965239057