Colloids at water–oil interfaces can form ordered monolayers when surface charge–induced repulsion overcomes capillary attraction. Such particle monolayers play an important role in the stabilization of emulsions and also can serve as an exquisite model system to study fundamental physical phenomena. However, it is challenging to dynamically control the relative magnitudes of repulsion and attraction between the particles, especially with reversibility, to induce reversible aggregation and dispersion because forces that are relevant tend to be much greater than those induced by thermal fluctuation. Here, the authors show that reversible assembly, that is reversible aggregation and dispersion, can be induced by space charge injection from corona discharge. The authors find that space charge injection modulates the strength of charge‐induced repulsion. By injecting charges, it is possible to either induce aggregation of repulsion‐dominated colloids or dispersion of aggregated particles. Interfacial electrophoretic experiments show that the alteration of the repulsion is caused by the variation of the particle surface charge that results from charge injection. The authors also demonstrate that even particles that initially form aggregated clusters due to low surface charge can be induced to organize into a hexagonally ordered structure. This method can be a powerful tool for studying phenomena involving interface‐trapped particles.
Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of colloidal particles is a practical system for the study of crystallization and related physical phenomena. The aggregation is driven by the electroosmotic flow fields and induced dipole moments generated by the polarization of the electrode‐particle‐electrolyte interface. Here, the electrochemical control of aggregation and repulsion in the electrophoretic deposition of colloidal microspheres is reported. The nature of the observed transition depended on the composition of the solvent, switching from electrode‐driven aggregation in water to electrical field‐driven repulsion in ethanol for otherwise identical systems of colloidal microspheres. This work uses optical microscopy‐derived particles and a recently developed particle insertion method approach to extract model‐free, effective interparticle potentials to describe the ensemble behavior of the particles as a function of the solvent and electrode potential at the electrode interface. This approach can be used to understand the phase behavior of these systems based on the observable particle positions rather than a detailed understanding of the electrode‐electrolyte microphysics. This approach enables simple predictability of the static and dynamic behaviors of functional colloid‐electrode interfaces.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10442904
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials Interfaces
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 2196-7350
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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