Colloids are systems comprised of particles of mesoscopic size suspended in a liquid. They have recently been attracting increased attention from scientists and engineers due to the fact that they are nowadays present in many industrial products such as paints, oil additives, electronic ink displays and drugs. Colloids also serve as versatile model systems for phenomena and structures from solid-state physics, surface science and statistical mechanics, and can easily be studied using tabletop experiments to provide insight into processes not readily accessible in atomic systems. This book presents the lectures delivered at the 2012 Enrico Fermi School ‘Physics of Complex Colloids’, held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2012. The school addressed experimental, theoretical and numerical results and methods, and the lectures covered a broad spectrum of topics from the starting point of the synthesis of colloids and their use in commercial products. The lectures review the state-of-the-art of colloidal science in a pedagogical way, discussing both the basics and the latest results, and this book will serve as a reference for both students and experts in this rapidly growing field.

Colloids are systems comprised of particles of mesoscopic size suspended in a liquid. They have recently been attracting increased attention from scientists and engineers due to the fact that they are nowadays present in many industrial products such as paints, oil additives, electronic ink displays and drugs. Colloids also serve as versatile model systems for phenomena and structures from solid-state physics, surface science and statistical mechanics, and can easily be studied using tabletop experiments to provide insight into processes not readily accessible in atomic systems.This book presents the lectures delivered at the 2012 Enrico Fermi School 'Physics of Complex Colloids', held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2012. The school addressed experimental, theoretical and numerical results and methods, and the lectures covered a broad spectrum of topics from the starting point of the synthesis of colloids and their use in commercial products.The lectures review the state-of-the-art of colloidal science in a pedagogical way, discussing both the basics and the latest results, and this book will serve as a reference for both students and experts in this rapidly growing field.

This book presents a compilation of self-contained chapters covering a wide range of topics within the broad field of soft condensed matter. Each chapter starts with basic definitions to bring the reader up-to-date on the topic at hand, describing how to use fluid flows to generate soft materials of high value either for applications or for basic research. Coverage includes topics related to colloidal suspensions and soft materials and how they differ in behavior, along with a roadmap for researchers on how to use soft materials to study relevant physics questions related to geometrical frustration.

Many fundamental issues in classical condensed matter physics can be addressed experimentally using systems of individually visible mesoscopic particles playing the role of “proxy atoms”. The interaction between such “atoms” is determined by the properties of the surrounding medium and/or by external tuning. The best-known examples of such experimental model systems are two different domains of soft matter — complex plasmas and colloidal dispersions.The major goal of this book — written by scientists representing both complex plasmas and colloidal dispersions — is to bring the two fields together. In the first part of the book the basic properties of the two systems are summarized, demonstrating huge conceptual and methodological overlap of the fields and emphasizing numerous cross-connections between them and their essential complementarity. This “introductory part” should serve to help each community in understanding the other field better. Simultaneously, this provides the necessary basis for the second part focused on particle-resolved studies of diverse generic phenomena in liquids and solids — all performed with complex plasmas and/or colloidal dispersions. The book is concluded with the discussion of critical open issues and fascinating perspectives of such interdisciplinary research.

This book covers the physical side of colloidal science from the individual forces acting between particles smaller than a micrometer that are suspended in a liquid, through the resulting equilibrium and dynamic properties. A variety of internal forces both attractive and repulsive act in conjunction with Brownian motion and the balance between them all decides the phase behaviour. On top of this various external fields, such as gravity or electromagnetic fields, diffusion and non-Newtonian rheology produce complex effects, each of which is of important scientific and technological interest. The authors aim to impart a sound, quantitative understanding based on fundamental theory and experiments with well-characterised model systems. This broad grasp of the fundamentals lends insight and helps to develop the intuitive sense needed to isolate essential features of the technological problems and design critical experiments. The main prerequisites for understanding the book are basic fluid mechanics, statistical mechanics and electromagnetism, though self contained reviews of each subject are provided at appropriate points. Some facility with differential equations is also necessary. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter, making the work suitable as a textbook for graduate courses in chemical engineering or applied mathematics. It will also be useful as a reference for individuals in academia or industry undertaking research in colloid science.

This book provides an introduction to colloid science, based on the application of the principles of physical chemistry. Early chapters assume only an elementary knowledge of physical chemistry and provide the basis for more thorough discussion in later chapters covering specific aspects of colloid science. The widespread occurrence of colloids is stressed and the more important industrial applications of colloid technology are outlined. The final chapter deals with the future of colloid science and indicates the directions in which further developments are likely to take place. The book is ideal for undergraduate courses and, supplemented by further reading, for postgraduates too. It will also be useful to industrial research workers who wish to become familiar with the basic ideas and their many important applications to industry.

Zeta Potential in Colloid Science: Principles and Applications covers the concept of the zeta potential in colloid chemical theory. The book discusses the charge and potential distribution at interfaces; the calculation of the zeta potential; and the experimental techniques used in the measurement of electrokinetic parameters. The text also describes the electroviscous and viscoelectric effects; applications of the zeta potential to areas of colloid science; and the influence of simple inorganic ions or more complex adsorbates on zeta potential. Physical chemists and people involved in the study of colloid science will find the book useful.