Bridging transitions for spheres and cylinders

Alexandr Malijevský, Andrew O. Parry
2015 Physical Review E  
We study bridging transitions between spherically and cylindrically shaped particles (colloids) of radius R separated by a distance H that are dissolved in a bulk fluid (solvent). Using macroscopics, microscopic density functional theory and finite-size scaling theory we study the location and order of the bridging transition and also the stability of the liquid bridges which determines spinodal lines. The location of the bridging transitions is similar for cylinders and spheres, so that for
more » ... mple, at bulk coexistence the distance H_b at which a transition between bridged and unbridged configurations occurs, is proportional to the colloid radius R. However all other aspects, and, in particular, the stability of liquid bridges, are very different in the two systems. Thus, for cylinders the bridging transition is typically strongly first-order, while for spheres it may be first-order, critical or rounded as determined by a critical radius R_c. The influence of thick wetting films and fluctuation effects beyond mean-field are also discussed in depth.
doi:10.1103/physreve.92.022407 pmid:26382416 fatcat:v56hgrhljzgoldqnpc3umgmzlm