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Nonequilibrium continuous phase transition in colloidal gelation with short-range attraction

Author

Listed:
  • Joep Rouwhorst

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Christopher Ness

    (University of Cambridge
    University of Edinburgh)

  • Simeon Stoyanov

    (Unilever R&D Vlaardingen)

  • Alessio Zaccone

    (University of Cambridge
    University of Milan
    University of Cambridge)

  • Peter Schall

    (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

The dynamical arrest of attractive colloidal particles into out-of-equilibrium structures, known as gelation, is central to biophysics, materials science, nanotechnology, and food and cosmetic applications, but a complete understanding is lacking. In particular, for intermediate particle density and attraction, the structure formation process remains unclear. Here, we show that the gelation of short-range attractive particles is governed by a nonequilibrium percolation process. We combine experiments on critical Casimir colloidal suspensions, numerical simulations, and analytical modeling with a master kinetic equation to show that cluster sizes and correlation lengths diverge with exponents ~1.6 and 0.8, respectively, consistent with percolation theory, while detailed balance in the particle attachment and detachment processes is broken. Cluster masses exhibit power-law distributions with exponents −3/2 and −5/2 before and after percolation, as predicted by solutions to the master kinetic equation. These results revealing a nonequilibrium continuous phase transition unify the structural arrest and yielding into related frameworks.

Suggested Citation

  • Joep Rouwhorst & Christopher Ness & Simeon Stoyanov & Alessio Zaccone & Peter Schall, 2020. "Nonequilibrium continuous phase transition in colloidal gelation with short-range attraction," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17353-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17353-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. C. Hertlein & L. Helden & A. Gambassi & S. Dietrich & C. Bechinger, 2008. "Direct measurement of critical Casimir forces," Nature, Nature, vol. 451(7175), pages 172-175, January.
    2. Van Duc Nguyen & Suzanne Faber & Zhibing Hu & Gerard H. Wegdam & Peter Schall, 2013. "Controlling colloidal phase transitions with critical Casimir forces," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-6, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yujie Jiang & Ryohei Seto, 2023. "Colloidal gelation with non-sticky particles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. David Doan & John Kulikowski & X. Wendy Gu, 2024. "Direct observation of phase transitions in truncated tetrahedral microparticles under quasi-2D confinement," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Mohammad Nabizadeh & Safa Jamali, 2021. "Life and death of colloidal bonds control the rate-dependent rheology of gels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.

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