Cluster formation in binary charge-stabilized colloidal suspensions confined to a two-dimensional plane

Abstract

Hypernetted chain (HNC) integral equation theory has been used to study the structural features of binary charged stabilized colloidal suspensions confined to a two-dimensional plane. The particles interact via purely repulsive Yukawa intermolecular potential, the inverse screening length scaled by the average distance between strongly interacting components of the mixture (dimensionless screening parameter) being 1, 3 and 5. Results of HNC theory for one-component systems are found to be in very good agreement with that of simulation, in the parameter range of our study. Binary Yukawa systems with dimensionless screening parameters 1 and 3 are found to exhibit diffuse clusters of the weakly interacting particles, marked by the emergence of a cluster peak in the corresponding partial structure factor curves. No cluster peak is found in the system with the screening parameter 5. For the entire range of mixture parameters, the strongly interacting particles remain homogeneously distributed.

Keywords:

• theory of colloids
• cluster formation
• integral equation theory
• binary charge stabilized colloidal system

PACS:

• 82.70.Dd

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by SERB (D. O. no. SR/S2/CMP-0140/2012), Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi (India) through a project grant.