Dissociation kinetics of secondary-minimum flocculated colloidal particles

Abstract

The first passage time method is used to calculate the mean association time of a pair of secondaryminimum flocculated colloidal particles. This approach circumvents the need to solve the Smoluchowski diffusion equation, without invoking any additional approximations. It is shown that the pair association time is a very sensitive probe of the interaction between the particles. A comparison with measured association times of secondary-minimum flocculated monodisperse polystyrene spheres reveals large discrepancies between experiment and theoretical predictions based on exact hydrodynamics and the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) potential for colloidal interactions. © 1984.