Aggregation kinetics in a model colloidal suspension

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 inter-colloidal attractions.

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Percus-Yevick Structure Factors Made Simple
• Transport in a highly asymmetric binary fluid mixture
• Diffusion and conduction in a salt-free colloidal suspension via molecular dynamics simulations