Structure and effective interactions in model colloidal suspensions: a molecular dynamics simulation study

ABSTRACT

Structure and properties of model colloidal suspensions in bulk solutions have been investigated using classical molecular dynamics simulations. The system consists of spherical particles (macroscopic colloids and microscopic counterions and/or coions) in a continuum solvent and is described using the primitive model. Variations in different properties with system parameters (colloid size, charge, concentration etc.) have been investigated. An effective one-component model [Adelman SA. J. Chem. Phys. 1976;64:724–731] of the multicomponent suspension is used to calculate the effective colloid–colloid potential, which develops an attractive minimum with increase in charge, size and concentration of colloid.

KEYWORDS:

• Radial distribution function
• effective potential
• Ornstein Zernike equation
• isothermal compressibility
• self-diffusion coefficient

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from CSIR, India under Project No. 01(2513)/11/EMR-II. We also acknowledge the use of DST-FIST supported computational facility of the department as well as the central computing facility of the institute (Kosambi) during this work. We thank the anonymous reviewer for valuable suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [01(2513)/11/EMR-II].