Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/228316

Title

Density functional theory of charged colloidal systems

Author(s)

Chan, Derek Y. C.

Abstract

The phase behavior of charged colloidal systems has been studied recently by the density functional theory formalism (DFT) [R. van Roij, M. Dijkstra, and J. P. Hansen, Phys. Rev. E 59, 2010 (1999)]. A key feature of this approach is the appearance of a density and temperature-dependent effective Hamiltonian between the charged colloids. Under certain approximations, the effective Hamiltonian is made up only of a sum of position-independent one-body or volume terms and two-body colloid-separation dependent terms. In the limit of low colloidal densities, the DFT results do not reduce to the familiar Debye-Huckel limiting law nor do the results agree with previous work based on an identical approach but were developed using traditional statistical-mechanical methods [B. Beresford-Smith, D. Y. C. Chan, and D. J. Mitchell J. Colloid Interface Sci. 105, 216 (1985)]. This paper provides a reconciliation of these differences and comments on the significance of the one-body volume terms in the effective Hamiltonian of a system of charged colloids in determining thermodynamics and phase behavior.

Publication type

Journal article

Source

Physical Review E, Vol. 63, no. 6 (Jun 2001), article no. 061806

Publication year

2001

FOR Code(s)

01 Mathematical Sciences;  02 Physical Sciences;  09 Engineering

Keyword(s)

Charged colloidal systems;  Colloidal particles;  Density functional theory;  Phase behaviour

Publisher

American Physical Society

ISSN

1539-3755

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.63.061806

Copyright

Copyright © 2001 The American Physical Society.

Peer reviewed