Multipolar expansion of the electrostatic interaction between charged colloids at interfaces

TL;DR

This paper derives a multipole expansion for electrostatic interactions between charged colloids at interfaces, revealing isotropic leading terms and anisotropic corrections at higher orders, with implications for colloidal behavior.

Contribution

It provides a detailed multipole expansion of electrostatic potentials at interfaces, highlighting the dominant isotropic dipole-like interactions and higher-order anisotropic terms.

Findings

Electrostatic potential is isotropic and varies as d^{-3}.

Interaction between colloids is isotropic and proportional to d^{-3}.

Anisotropic terms appear only at higher powers d^{-n} with n ≥ 4.

Abstract

The general form of the electrostatic potential around an arbitrarily charged colloid at an interface between a dielectric and a screening phase (such as air and water, respectively) is analyzed in terms of a multipole expansion. The leading term is isotropic in the interfacial plane and varies with $d^{-3}$ where $d$ is the in--plane distance from the colloid. The electrostatic interaction potential between two arbitrarily charged colloids is likewise isotropic and $\propto d^{-3}$, corresponding to the dipole--dipole interaction first found for point charges at water interfaces. Anisotropic interaction terms arise only for higher powers $d^{-n}$ with $n \ge 4$.