Interface and colloid science is an interdisciplinary intersection of branches of chemistry, physics, nanoscience and other fields dealing with colloids, heterogeneous systems consisting of a mechanical mixture of particles between 1 nm and 1000 nm dispersed in a continuous medium. A colloidal solution is a heterogeneous mixture in which the particle size of the substance is intermediate between a true solution and a suspension, i.e. between 1–1000 nm. Smoke from a fire is an example of a colloidal system in which tiny particles of solid float in air. Just like true solutions, colloidal particles are small and cannot be seen by the naked eye. They easily pass through filter paper. But colloidal particles are big enough to be blocked by parchment paper or animal membrane.
Interface and colloid science has applications and ramifications in the chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, ceramics, minerals, nanotechnology, and microfluidics, among others.
There are many books dedicated to this scientific discipline, and there is a glossary of terms, Nomenclature in Dispersion Science and Technology, published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.
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In colloidal chemistry, flocculation is a process by which colloidal particles come out of suspension to sediment in the form of floc or flake, either spontaneously or due to the addition of a clarifying agent. The action differs from precipitation in that, prior to flocculation, colloids are merely suspended, under the form of a stable dispersion (where the internal phase (solid) is dispersed throughout the external phase (fluid) through mechanical agitation) and are not truly dissolved in solution.
In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually settle, although the mixture is only classified as a suspension when and while the particles have not settled out. A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture in which the solid particles do not dissolve, but get suspended throughout the bulk of the solvent, left floating around freely in the medium.
In surface science, a double layer (DL, also called an electrical double layer, EDL) is a structure that appears on the surface of an object when it is exposed to a fluid. The object might be a solid particle, a gas bubble, a liquid droplet, or a porous body. The DL refers to two parallel layers of charge surrounding the object. The first layer, the surface charge (either positive or negative), consists of ions which are adsorbed onto the object due to chemical interactions.
The first part of the course is devoted to the self-assembly of molecules. In the second part we discuss basic physical chemical principles of polymers in solutions, at interfaces, and in bulk. Finall
Acquire an understanding of interfacial phenomena, micro-heterogeneous colloidal solution systems and dynamic electrochemistry.
This course aims at giving an overview on the synthesis of nanoparticles, with more focus on colloidal chemistry, and their implementation into devices for energy applications (batteries, solar cells,
Electromagnetic forces and torques enable many key technologies, including optical tweezers or dielectrophoresis. Interestingly, both techniques rely on the same physical process: the interaction of an oscillating electric field with a particle of matter. ...
AMER CHEMICAL SOC2023
In aqueous solutions, a charged surface causes the redistribution of nearby ions. The ion layers formed are known as the electrical double layer (EDL), and are widespread in many systems involving electrochemistry, colloidal science, biomedicine, and energ ...
EPFL2024
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Investigating the electrical double layer (EDL) structure has been a long-standing challenge and has seen the emergence of several sophisticated techniques able to probe selectively the few molecular layers of a solid/water interface. While a qualitative e ...