Sedimentation equilibrium of suspensions of colloidal particles at finite concentrations

Equilibrium concentration profiles of non-dilute colloidal suspensions are calculated by means of the Carnahan-Starling expression for the osmotic compressibility of hard sphere liquids. The profiles depend on the average volume fraction of the suspension, , and on the field interaction parameter, ₀ (reciprocal of the Péclet number at infinite dilution). Profiles are computed for values of and ₀ typical of those encountered in sedimentation field-flow fractionation experiments. It is found that, in most cases, the volume fraction at the depletion wall is negligibly small and that the volume fraction at the accumulation wall ₀, depends on the ratio <>₀/₀ only. An inflexion point is found in the concentration profile if ₀ is larger than 0.13 whatever the value of ₀.