A Light Scattering Study of the Transition Region between Diffusion- and Reaction-Limited Cluster Aggregation

Abstract

Two limiting regimes for colloidal particle aggregation are well described in the literature: diffusion-limited cluster aggregation and reaction-limited cluster aggregation. Between these two limiting regimes, a vast transition region is expected. In this paper, the transition region is studied by means of static and dynamic light scattering. Therefore, a system of latex particles is aggregated at different electrolyte concentrations. The time dependence of the average diffusion coefficient is fitted considering the Brownian kernel and the kernel proposed by Schmitt et al. [Phys. Rev. E 62, 8335 (2000)]. The first fits the experimental data only at high electrolyte concentrations while the latter, which considers multiple cluster-cluster contacts, is found to fit the complete set of experimental data. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

A simple model for the structure of fractal aggregates

“…This is obtained based on the aggregation kernel originally derived by von Smoluchowski and accounting for the fractal nature of the clusters. It was found [12,61] that with this kernel, the predictions of the PBE are in good agreement with the experimental results.…”

“…Flocculation (or aggregation) is one of the most interesting and important phenomena that colloidal suspensions may display. This is also an important step in the industrial processing of many colloidal systems, and therefore great attention has been devoted to understanding its main features and to model its kinetics [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Electrostatic heteroaggregation regimes in colloidal suspensions

“…Reaction limited cluster aggregation (RLCA) takes place at very low electrolyte concentrations [81]. The continuous transition between these two extreme regimes is also quite well described in the literature [82][83][84]. In contrast, much less is known about heteroaggregation regimes.…”

Simulated Reversible Aggregation Processes for Different Interparticle Potentials: The Cluster Aging Phenomenon

“…8,35 Considering that the cluster fractal dimension for RLCA (d f RLCA ) 2.10 ( 0.05) is also very close to the one obtained for this reversible regime, a detailed study of the cluster size distribution becomes very convenient as a general practice for discerning between both situations. [14][15][16] 4.3. Breakable Primary and Secondary Bonds.…”