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Electrostatic-elastic coupling in colloidal crystals

Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Electrostatic-elastic coupling in colloidal crystals, composed of a mobile Coulomb gas permeating a fixed background crystalline lattice of charged colloids, is studied on the continuum level in order to analyze the lattice-mediated interactions between mobile charges. The linearized, Debye-Hückel–like mean-field equations incorporating a minimal coupling between electrostatic and displacement fields imply an additional effective attractive interaction between mobile charges. For small screening lengths, the interactions between like mobile charges exhibit colloid-lattice–mediated effective interaction, ranging from weak to strong attraction, while for large screening lengths the lattice-mediated interaction is purely repulsive. Continuum theory incorporating the standard lattice elasticity and electrostatics of mobile charges, augmented by the minimal electrostatic-elastic coupling terms, can serve as a baseline for more detailed microscopic models.
DOI: 10.1209/0295-5075/ad8f5d
Institutions: Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences, Institute of Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Language: English
Field: Chemistry
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $1,805
OpenAlex ID: W4404096295
FWCI: 1.02
Cites: 25
Cited by: 5
Related to: 10