Directing colloidal assembly at fluid interfaces

Assembly of Colloidal Crystals at Electrode Interfaces

We describe a theory for a new type of colloid behavior whereby particles deposited on a surface by electrophoresis aremanipulated to form two-dimensional crystals. Since the particles are equally charged, the clustering is opposite that expected from electrostatic considerations. Such behavior is consistentwith migrationdue to electrohydrodynamic flowsassociatedwithpolarization layers and ion ...

Immobilization of Colloidal Monolayers at Fluid–Fluid Interfaces

Monolayers of colloidal particles trapped at an interface between two immiscible fluids play a pivotal role in many applications and act as essential models in fundamental studies. One of the main advantages of these systems is that non-close packed monolayers with tunable inter-particle spacing can be formed, as required, for instance, in surface patterning and sensing applications. At the sam...

Statistics of fluctuating colloidal fluid-fluid interfaces.

Fluctuations of the interface between coexisting colloidal fluid phases have been measured with confocal microscopy. Due to a very low surface tension, the thermal motions of the interface are so slow that a record can be made of the positions of the interface. The theory of the interfacial height fluctuations is developed. For a host of correlation functions, the experimental data are compared...

Colloidal jamming at interfaces: a route to fluid-bicontinuous gels.

Colloidal particles or nanoparticles, with equal affinity for two fluids, are known to adsorb irreversibly to the fluid-fluid interface. We present large-scale computer simulations of the demixing of a binary solvent containing such particles. The newly formed interface sequesters the colloidal particles; as the interface coarsens, the particles are forced into close contact by interfacial tens...

Capillary interactions between colloidal particles at curved fluid interfaces