Testing the relevance of effective interaction potentials between highly charged colloids in suspension

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of different theoretical models in predicting the thermodynamic and microscopic properties of highly charged colloidal dispersions, using a combination of computational and analytical techniques.

Contribution

It compares cell and Jellium models with Monte Carlo and integral equation methods to assess their accuracy in describing colloidal interactions.

Findings

Yukawa potential's self-consistency is challenged using Kirkwood-Buff identity.

Cell and Jellium models are tested against detailed simulations.

The study highlights the strengths and limitations of each modeling approach.

Abstract

Combining cell and Jellium model mean-field approaches, Monte Carlo together with integral equation techniques, and finally more demanding many-colloid mean-field computations, we investigate the thermodynamic behavior, pressure and compressibility of highly charged colloidal dispersions, and at a more microscopic level, the force distribution acting on the colloids. The Kirkwood-Buff identity provides a useful probe to challenge the self-consistency of an approximate effective screened Coulomb (Yukawa) potential between colloids. Two effective parameter models are put to the test: cell against renormalized Jellium models.