Non-equilibrium sedimentation of colloids on the particle scale

TL;DR

This study combines experiments, theory, and simulations to analyze the non-equilibrium sedimentation behavior of colloids, revealing detailed particle dynamics and pressure evolution in confined systems.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of experimental, theoretical, and simulation methods for non-equilibrium colloidal sedimentation, highlighting new insights into particle-scale behavior.

Findings

Quantitative agreement between methods for density evolution

Experimental access to single-particle information in out-of-equilibrium states

Observation of complex lateral pattern formation

Abstract

We investigate sedimentation of model hard sphere-like colloidal dispersions confined in horizontal capillaries using laser scanning confocal microscopy, dynamical density functional theory, and Brownian dynamics computer simulations. For homogenized initial states we obtain quantitative agreement of the results from the respective approaches for the time evolution of the one-body density distribution and the osmotic pressure on the walls. We demonstrate that single particle information can be obtained experimentally in systems that were initialized further out-of-equilibrium such that complex lateral patterns form.