Nanoparticle halos: A new colloid stabilization mechanism

Valeria Tohver, James E. Smay, Alan Braem, Paul V. Braun, Jennifer A. Lewis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A new mechanism for regulating the stability of colloidal particles has been discovered. Negligibly charged colloidal microspheres, which flocculate when suspended alone in aqueous solution, undergo a remarkable stabilizing transition upon the addition of a critical volume fraction of highly charged nanoparticle species. Zeta potential analysis revealed that these microspheres exhibited an effective charge buildup in the presence of such species. Scanning angle reflectometry measurements indicated, however, that these nanoparticle species did not adsorb on the microspheres under the experimental conditions of interest. It is therefore proposed that highly charged nanoparticles segregate to regions near negligibly charged microspheres because of their repulsive Coulombic interactions in solution. This type of nanoparticle haloing provides a previously unreported method for tailoring the behavior of complex fluids.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)8950-8954
Number of pages5
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume98
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 31 2001

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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