Probing Colloidal Gels at Multiple Length Scales: The Role of Hydrodynamics

C. Patrick Royall, Jens Eggers, Akira Furukawa, and Hajime Tanaka
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 258302 – Published 24 June 2015
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Abstract

Colloidal gels are out-of-equilibrium structures, made up of a rarefied network of colloidal particles. Comparing experiments to numerical simulations, with hydrodynamic interactions switched off, we demonstrate the crucial role of the solvent for gelation. Hydrodynamic interactions suppress the formation of larger local equilibrium structures of closed geometry, and instead lead to the formation of highly anisotropic threads, which promote an open gel network. We confirm these results with simulations which include hydrodynamics. Based on three-point correlations, we propose a scale-resolved quantitative measure for the anisotropy of the gel structure. We find a strong discrepancy for interparticle distances just under twice the particle diameter between systems with and without hydrodynamics, quantifying the role of hydrodynamics from a structural point of view.

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  • Received 11 September 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.258302

© 2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

C. Patrick Royall1,2,3,*, Jens Eggers4, Akira Furukawa5, and Hajime Tanaka5,†

  • 1HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
  • 2School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, United Kingdom
  • 3Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1FD, United Kingdom
  • 4School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TW, United Kingdom
  • 5Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan

  • *paddy.royall@bristol.ac.uk
  • tanaka@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp

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Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 25 — 26 June 2015

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