Colloidal Jamming at Interfaces: a Route to Fluid-bicontinuous Gels

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how colloidal particles at fluid interfaces can arrest coarsening during phase separation, forming a stable, gel-like structure with interconnected fluid domains, useful for microreaction applications.

Contribution

It introduces large-scale simulations showing colloidal jamming at interfaces leads to fluid-bicontinuous gels, a novel route for creating stable, interconnected fluid structures.

Findings

Coarsening is halted by colloidal jamming.

The gel forms a solid-like, multiply connected structure.

Potential applications in microreaction media.

Abstract

Colloidal particles or nanoparticles, with equal affinity for two fluids, are known to adsorb irreversibly to the fluid-fluid interface. We present large-scale computer simulations of the demixing of a binary solvent containing such particles. The newly formed interface sequesters the colloidal particles; as the interface coarsens, the particles are forced into close contact by interfacial tension. Coarsening is dramatically curtailed, and the jammed colloidal layer seemingly enters a glassy state, creating a multiply connected, solid-like film in three dimensions. The resulting gel contains percolating domains of both fluids, with possible uses as, for example, a microreaction medium.