Phase behavior and far-from-equilibrium gelation of charged attractive colloids

TL;DR

This paper introduces an augmented Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo method to accurately determine phase boundaries in charged colloids with competing attractions and repulsions, revealing gelation via arrested microphase separation.

Contribution

The study presents a novel computational approach for phase behavior analysis of complex colloidal systems with short-range attraction and long-range repulsion.

Findings

Gelation occurs through arrested microphase separation.

The method accurately maps phase boundaries and ground states.

Gelation can happen even when equilibrium states are microphase structures.

Abstract

In this Rapid Communication we demonstrate the applicability of an augmented Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo approach for the phase behavior determination of model colloidal systems with short-ranged depletion attraction and long-ranged repulsion. This technique allows for a quantitative determination of the phase boundaries and ground states in such systems. We demonstrate that gelation may occur in systems of this type as the result of arrested microphase separation, even when the equilibrium state of the system is characterized by compact microphase structures.