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An apparatus is described that can determine electrophoretic mobilities of polar and non-polar colloidal dispersions down to -12 2 10 msV -1 -1 with typical resolutions of 0.5 to 5%, depending on the nature of the dispersion being studied. The diffusion coefficient and settling/convection velocity of the sample may be determined simultaneously in real time with the electrophoretic mobility. The technique, phase analysis light scattering (PALSY, is based upon classical laser-Doppler electrophoresis, but employs signal processing of the time domain phase information within the scattered light signal, rather than analysis of its frequency spectrum. This allows much smaller electric field strengths to be employed, thereby alleviating the usual heating problems associated with electrophoretic studies of non-polar dispersions. PALS measurements of typical aqueous latex dispersions with large mobilities and non-polar dispersions with very small mobilities (down to 5x 10_12 m2 s-1 V-1) are presented to illustrate the versatility of the technique.

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Within a colloidal dispersion, the presence of negatively adsorbing material can produce a variety of effects on the dispersion properties and interactions. With increasing concentration, the negatively adsorbing material induces both depletion and structural forces on the dispersion, which can dramatically affect both colloidal stability and near-contact hydrodynamics. This project focused on expanding our understanding of the effects of such negatively adsorbing materials on both equilibrium and dynamic interactions between particles. The effects of charged, hard spheres (silica nanoparticle) on the hydrodynamic drag force a particle experiences as it approaches a flat plate were measured experimentally using colloid probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM). Deviation was found between the measured drag force and predictions for the drag force in a simple, Newtonian fluid. The measured drag force was always smaller than the predicted drag force as the particle approached contact with the plate. An effective viscosity, that approached the dispersing fluid viscosity at contact and the bulk viscosity at large separations, was determined for the system. This effective viscosity displayed similar characteristics to those predicted theoretically by Bhattacharya and Blawzdziewicz (J. Chem. Phys. 2008, 128, 214704.). The effects of both anionic and cationic micelles on the depletion and structural forces in a colloidal dispersion were studied both experimentally (with CP-AFM) and theoretically. The depletion and structural forces between a microparticle and a flat plate were measured and compared with the depletion force predicted by the force-balance model of Walz and Sharma (J. Colloid Interface Sci. 1994, 168, 485-496.). Consistent with previous work, the measured depletion force for both micelles was smaller in magnitude than that predicted by the Walz and Sharma model for hard, charged spheres. It is theorized that rearrangement of the micelle surfaces charges or physical deformation of the micelles may be responsible for the observed result. An effective surface potential for the micelles is proposed as a correction to the Walz and Sharma model. Finally, the stability of colloidal dispersions was studied macroscopically in solutions of ionic micelles. The colloidal dispersions displayed clear flocculation behavior in both cationic and anionic micelles. This flocculation behavior was compared with energy profiles determined from CP-AFM experiments between a single particle and a flat plate. A simple phase diagram was proposed for predicting the stability of colloidal dispersions based solely on the depth of the depletion energy well and the height of the repulsive energy barrier. / Ph. D.

Les suspensions colloïdales se trouvent un peu partout autour de nous, dans les matériauxde constructions, en cosmétique, dans l'alimentation, en biologie. Elles sont composésde particules nanométriques ou micrométriques dispersés dans un gaz, un liquide ou unsolide.Cette thèse porte sur les suspensions colloïdales dans des solutions ioniques,où les colloïdes portent une charge électriques, par exemple des particules de silicedans une solution aqueuse de chlorure de sodium, à un pH basique. Les colloïdes,ici approximés par des sphères, peuvent varier significativement en taille,ce qui peut avoir un effet important sur le comportement de ces systèmes.Cette étude vise à améliorer la compréhension de ces suspensions colloïdales chargéespar des modèles théoriques résolus par des simulations numériques.Un des défis de ces simulations est le grand nombre de degrés de libertés. Pour chaque(micro-)ion il y a des centaines de molécules de solvant, et pour chaque colloïdedes centaines voire des milliers d'ions. Pour s'en sortir, nous avons calculéles interactions effectives à l'échelle colloïdale. Nous avons repris et développéplusieurs approches, présentant chacune un compromis en terme de temps de calcul etprécision.La variation en taille des colloïdes peut introduire des effets intéressants,observés expérimentalement, notamment le fractionnement des suspensions en plusieursphases cristallines quand on augmente la concentration en colloïdes.Des techniques de simulations Monte-Carlo simples associées aux interactions inter-colloïdescalculées précédemment ont permis d'obtenir des résultats en bon accord avec l'expérience. / Colloidal suspensions are found a bit everywhere around us, in construction materials,in cosmetics, in food, in biology. They are composed of nanometric or micrometric particlesdispersed in a gas, a liquid or sometimes a solid.This thesis is about colloidal suspensions in ionic solutions, where colloids bear anelectric charge, for example silica particles in an aqueous solution of sodium chloride,at a basic pH. The colloids, here approximated by spheres, can vary significantly in size,which can have an important effect on the behavior of these systems.This study aims at improving the understanding of these charged colloidal suspensionsby theoretical models solved by numerical simulations.of these charged colloidal suspensionsby theoretical models solved by numerical simulations.One of the challenge of theses simulations is the huge number of degrees of freedom.For each (micro-)ion there is hundreds of solvent molecules, and for each colloidthere is hundreds if not thousands of ions. To get away with it, we calculated theeffective interactions at the colloidal scale. We took and developed several approaches,each showing a trade-off in terms of computational time and accuracy.The size variation of colloids may introduce interesting effects, experimentallyobserved, notably the fractionation of suspensions in several crystalline phaseswhen the colloidal concentration is increased. Some simple Monte-Carlo simulationtechniques in combination with the inter-colloid interactions computed previouslyallowed us to obtain results in good agreement with experiments.