Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Colloidal Interaction Forces in Crystalline Colloidal Arrays

在化学系有机动力学项目的资助下，Sanford Asher、Rob Coalson 和 Anthony Duncan 教授将进行理论和实验研究，以了解强相互作用胶体分散体中的静电相互作用。 该项目将探索利用这些相互作用生产新型胶体晶体材料的可能性。该工作的一部分将研究由混合的正负胶体颗粒组成的胶体晶体。使用的主要技术是光热衍射光谱、荧光漂白、分子动力学模拟和其他理论处理。 DLVO（Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek）理论的弱点适用于弱相互作用的胶体系统，但在相互作用强且粒子密度高时存在重大缺陷，预计将通过新的晶格场理论（LFT）方法来克服。 晶体胶体阵列代表了一种不寻常的物质排列，对材料科学具有重要意义。这项工作涉及大带电胶体颗粒的界面化学以及随之而来的静电势和电场。 静电在膜生物学中至关重要。针对高密度胶体颗粒开发的模型虽然不一定直接适用，但也可能具有生物学相关性。

With funding from the Organic Dynamics Program of the Chemistry Division, Professors Sanford Asher, Rob Coalson, and Anthony Duncan will conduct theoretical and experimental studies leading to an understanding of electrostatic interactions in strongly interacting colloidal dispersions. The project will explore the possibility of exploiting these interactions to produce novel colloidal crystalline materials. In part the work will study colloidal crystals composed of mixed positive and negative colloidal particles. The primary techniques to be employed are photothermal diffraction spectroscopy, fluorescence bleaching, molecular dynamics simulations, and other theoretical treatments. The weaknesses in DLVO (Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek) theory, applicable to weakly interacting colloidal systems but substantially flawed when interactions are strong and particle densities high, are expected to be overcome by a new lattice field theory (LFT) approach. The crystalline colloidal arrays represent an unusual arrangement of matter and are of importance to material science. The work deals with interfacial chemistry of large charged colloidal particles and with the consequent electrostatic potentials and electric fields. Electrostatics are crucially important in membrane biology. Models developed for colloidal particles at high density, although not necessarily directly applicable, may thus also have biological relevance.