The influence of pH on the alternate multi-layered adsorption of macrocations and macroanions on colloidal spheres

The -potential and thickness of the alternate multiple adsorption layers of macrocations and macroanions on the surfaces of colloidal spheres in suspension were measured at pH values ranging from 2.8 to 10.8 via electrophoretic light-scattering measurements. Colloidal silica spheres (110 nm in diameter) were used. The macrocations used were poly(4-vinyl-N-n-butyl pyridinium bromide) (C4PVP, a strongly basic macroion) and poly (allylamine) (PAL, which is weakly basic). Sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) (NaPSS, strongly acidic) and sodium polyacrylate (NaPAA, weakly acidic) were used as macroanions. The macrocations were added first in all of the experiments. The alternate adsorption of C4PVP and NaPSS takes place for a wide range of pH values, between 2.8 and 8.7. For C4PVP + NaPAA systems, alternate layers are formed only at neutral pH values and within three to six layers. Multiple adsorption phenomena are observed at acidic and neutral pH values for PAL + NaPSS and PAL + NaPAA systems, respectively. These results strongly support the theory that the synchronous delicate balancing of the electrostatic interactions among the macrocations, the macroanions, and the colloidal spheres is important for the alternate multiple adsorption.     

Multilayered adsorption of macrocations and macroanions on colloidal spheres as studied by dynamic light scattering measurements

The electrophoretic light scattering data on the thickness of the alternate multiple adsorption layers of macrocations and macroanions on the surfaces of colloidal spheres, which have been published by the authors in Colloid and Polymer Science (1999) 277;813, (2000) 278:380 and (2002) 280:533, are reexamined with help of the dynamic light scattering measurements. Colloidal silica spheres (110 nm in diameter) and monodispersed polystyrene spheres (220 nm) are used as colloidal spheres. The macrocations used are poly(4-vinyl- N- n-butylpyridinium bromide and poly(allylamine). Sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) and sodium polyacrylate are used as macroanions. It was clarified in the previous work that a very small amount of the large aggregates of the macroions coexists for most of the suspensions and the thickness values reported are large compared with the true values. The corrected thickness values support the continuous thin layer's growing adsorption of the macroions on the colloidal surfaces but do not support the expansion–contraction-type adsorption.     

Synchronous multilayered adsorption of macrocations and macroanions on colloidal spheres. Influence of foreign salt and basicity or acidity of the macroions

The influence of foreign salt, the basicity or the acidity of macroions and the equivalency of the number of ionic groups of macrocations and macroanions upon alternate multiple adsorption on surfaces of colloidal silica (CS91, 110 nm in diameter) and polystyrene spheres (D1A19, 220 nm) have been studied by electrophoretic light scattering measurements. The macrocations used were poly(4-vinyl-N-n-butyl pyridinium bromide (C4PVP, strongly basic), poly(4-vinyl-N-ethyl pyridinium bromide (C2PVP, strongly basic) and poly(allylamine) (PAL, weakly basic). Sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) (NaPSS, strongly acidic) and sodium polyacrylate (NaPAA, weakly acidic) were used as macroanions. The alternate adsorption disappears even in the presence of a small amount of sodium chloride. The alternate multiple adsorption takes place on the addition of C4PVP first and NaPSS next, PAL first and NaPAA next, NaPAA first and C4PVP next, and NaPAA first and PAL next on the CS91 spheres. The influence of the equivalency of the number of ionic groups of C2PVP and NaPAA has been studied for the adsorption on the D1A19 spheres. The synchronous delicate balancing of the electrostatic interactions among the macrocations, the macroanions and the surfaces of the colloidal spheres is important for the alternate multiple adsorption.     

Colloidal crystallization of thermo-sensitive gel spheres of poly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-isopropyl acrylamide)

Morphology, phase diagram, and reflection spectroscopy of the colloidal crystals of thermo-sensitive gel spheres, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (224 nm in the hydrodynamic diameter at 25 °C) were studied. Giant colloidal single crystals formed at very low gel concentrations. Critical concentration of melting of gel spheres (0.8 wt.% without ion-exchange resins) decreased sharply to 0.01 wt.% as the gel suspension was deionized exhaustively with coexistence of the mixtures of cation- and anion-exchange resins and increased substantially as concentration of sodium chloride increased. These studies demonstrated that the colloidal crystallization takes place by the extended electrical double layers formed around the gel spheres in addition of the excluded-volume effect of the gels. Most of the researchers including the authors have believed that the crystallization of the gel spheres takes place by the excluded-volume effect, in other words, by the hard-sphere model, exclusively. However, the present work clarified that the colloidal interfaces, which are inevitable for the formation of the electrical double layers, are formed firmly between the water phase and gel spheres, though the gel spheres contain a lot of water molecules in the inner the sphere region.     

Colloidal crystallization of thermosensitive gel spheres of poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-isopropylacrylamide) with low degree of cross-linking

Morphology, phase diagram, and reflection spectroscopy of the colloidal crystals of thermosensitive gel spheres, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) ((200–0.5), 318 and 116 nm in the hydrodynamic diameter at 25°C and 45°C, and 0.5% in the degree of cross-linking) were studied. Giant colloidal single crystals formed at very low gel concentrations. Densities of the gel spheres were 0.030 and 0.61 at 25°C and 45°C, respectively. Critical concentration of melting of gel spheres (0.8 wt.% without ion-exchange resins) decreased sharply to 0.015 wt.% at 25°C as the gel suspension was deionized exhaustively with coexistence of the mixtures of cation and anion exchange resins. These results demonstrate that the colloidal crystallization takes place by the extended electrical double layers formed around the gel spheres in addition of the excluded volume effect of the gels. Extent of the contribution of the electrical double layers on the crystallization increased sharply when the degree of cross-linking increased, the gel spheres shrank, and/or the density of the gel spheres increased.     

Colloidal crystallization of thermo-sensitive gel spheres of poly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-isopropyl acrylamide). Influence of gel size

Influence of the gel size on the morphology, phase diagram, and reflection spectroscopy of the colloidal crystals of thermo-sensitive gel spheres, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm), was discussed by adding the data of two gel samples of pNIPAm(400–5) and pNIPAm(600–5) of 412 nm (at 25 °C) and 220 nm (at 45 °C) and of 517 nm (at 20 °C) and 294 nm (at 45 °C), respectively. Colloidal single crystals formed, but not so large compared with the giant crystals of small pNIPAm gels reported previously. The suspensions even with ion-exchange resins were turbid and hard to observe the single crystals clearly with the naked eyes as gel size increased. The critical concentration of melting decreased sharply as the suspensions were deionized with coexistence of the mixtures of cation- and anion-exchange resins. The critical concentration increased as the gel size increased and/or dispersion temperature increased. Density of the gel spheres increased as their size increased. These results demonstrated that the colloidal crystallization takes place by the extended electrical double layers formed around the gel spheres in addition of the excluded volume effect of the gels. Contribution of the electrical double layers on the crystallization increased sharply as temperature increased and gel concentration decreased, respectively. The contribution also increased slightly as sphere size increased, when comparison was made at the same gel concentration in wt.%. The present work clarified that the colloidal interfaces, which are inevitable for the formation of the electrical double layers, are formed between the water phase and gel spheres, though the gel spheres contain a lot of water molecules at the inner sphere region.     

Rigidity of colloidal crystals of silica spheres modified with polymers on their surfaces in organic solvents

Rigidity (G) of colloidal crystals in organic solvents of acetonitrile and nitrobenzene has been measured by reflection spectroscopy in sedimentation equilibrium. The colloidal spheres used are the silica spheres (136 nm in diameter) modified on their surfaces with polymers, poly(maleic anhydride-co-styrene) [P(MA-ST)], poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), or polystyrene (PST). Log G increases linearly with the slope of unity as log N (number density of colloidal spheres) increases. The mean values of the b-factor, which is the fluctuation parameter in crystal lattices and should be smaller than 0.1 according to the Lindeman's rule, are 0.045±0.003, 0.039±0.007, and 0.038±0.003 for P(MA-ST)/SiO₂, PMMA/SiO₂, and PST/SiO₂, respectively. These values are larger than that of colloidal crystals of mother silica spheres in the deionized aqueous suspension, 0.028. These results support the important role of the excluded volume effects from the polymer layers formed around the silica surfaces. However, contribution of the excluded volume effects from the electrical double layers formed around the spheres in the organic solvents is also effective in the colloidal crystallization. Electronic Publication     

Alternate sign reversal in the ζ potential and synchronous expansion and contraction in the absorbed multi-layers of poly(4-vinyl-N-n-butylpyridinium bromide) cations and poly(styrene sulfonate) anions on colloidal silica spheres

Alternative multiple absorbed layers of up to ten macrocations [poly(4-vinyl-N-n-butylpyridinium bromide)] and macroanions [sodium poly(styrene sulfonate)] are formed on colloidal silica spheres above the critical concentration of macroions, m*. The m* value is the minimum number of macroions required to reverse the sign of the ζ potential of the spheres in the first absorption step. Alternative sign reversal in the ζ potential and expansive–contractive thickness changes are observed by the repeated and alternate addition of macrocations first and macroanions next. During multiple absorption, the pH and conductivity values decrease and increase continuously as the number of absorbed layers increases. When the macroanions are added first, sign reversal in the ζ potential and reversible expansion and contraction do not occur. Breaking of the alternate multiple-type absorption occurs when equivalency in the number of dissociative groups of macrocations and macroanions is broken. Synchronous conformational changes of macrocations and macroanions in the multiple- absorbed layers, where balancing of the conformational rigidities with the multiple electrostatic attraction and repulsion between macrocations and anions occurs, are supported strongly. Received: 12 January 1999 Accepted in revised form: 25 March 1999     

Synchronous alternate multilayered adsorption of poly(4-vinyl-N-n-butylpyridinium) cations and poly(styrene sulfonate) anions on polystyrene colloidal spheres

Alternate multiple adsorbed layers of up to six macrocations [poly(4-vinyl-N-n-butyl-pyridinium bromide)] and macroanions [sodium poly(styrene sulfonate)] are formed on monodispersed polystyrene colloidal spheres above the critical concentration of the macroions, m ^*. The m ^* value is the minimum number of macroions needed to reverse the sign of the ζ potential of the spheres in the first adsorption step. Alternate sign reversal in the ζ potential and expansive–contractive thickness changes are observed on the repeated and alternate addition of macrocations first and macroanions next. When the macroanions are added first, sign reversal in the ζ potential and reversible expansion and contraction do not occur. Breaking of the alternate multiple-type adsorption also occurs when equivalency in the number of dissociative groups of macrocations and macroanions is broken. Synchronous conformational changes of macrocations and macroanions in the multiple-adsorbed layers occurs only when the conformational rigidities with the multiple electrostatic and hydrophobic attraction and/or repulsion between macrocations and macroanions are delicately balanced. Received: 12 August 1999/Accepted in revised form: 18 November 1999     

Suspension viscosity of colloidal crystals and liquids in exhaustively deionized aqueous suspensions coexisting with ion-exchange resins

 Viscosities of exhaustively deionized aqueous suspensions of colloidal silica spheres are measured with coexisting ion-exchange resins using an Ubbelohde-type viscometer. The reduced viscosities of small silica spheres (56.3 nm in diameter) with and without resins decrease as the sphere concentration increases. However, the former are larger than the latter especially at low sphere concentrations. The reduced viscosities of other silica spheres, 81.2, 103, 110 and 136 nm in diameter, with resins decrease as the sphere concentration increases, whereas those without resins increase especially at low sphere concentrations. The significant effect of the extent of deionization upon the viscometric properties supports the important role of the extended electrical double layers formed around the colloidal spheres. Received: 28 October 1999 Accepted: 24 December 1999     

Absorption of Polyelectrolytes on Colloidal Surfaces as Studied by Electrophoretic and Dynamic Light-Scattering Techniques

zeta-Potential and the effective diameter of the colloidal spheres absorbed with the macro-cations and macro-anions are studied by the electrophoretic light-scattering and dynamic light-scattering measurements. Colloidal spheres used are monodispersed polystyrene (220 nm in diameter) and colloidal silica spheres (110 nm). Macro-ions used are sodium polyacrylate, sodium polymethylacrylate, sodium poly(styrene sulfonate), and poly-4-vinyl pyridines quaternized with ethyl bromide, n-butyl bromide, benzyl chloride, and 5% hexadecyl bromide and 95% benzyl chloride. Reversal of colloidal surface charges from negative to positive occurs abruptly above the critical concentration of macro-ions by the excess absorption of the macro-cations onto the anionic colloidal spheres, i.e., avalanche-type absorption. The effective diameter of colloidal spheres including the absorbed layers increases substantially by four- to tenfold. In the presence of large amount of macro-cations aggregation of colloidal spheres mediated by the layers of absorbed macro-cations may occur. Absorption also occurs on the anionic colloidal spheres in the presence of an excess amount of macro-anions by the dipole-dipole-type attractive interactions. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Colloidal crystals of core–shell-type spheres in deionized aqueous suspension

The structure, crystal growth kinetics and rigidity of colloidal crystals of core–shell-type latex spheres (diameters 280–330 nm) with differences in shell rigidity have been studied in aqueous suspension, mainly by reflection spectroscopy. The suspensions were deionized exhaustively for more than 2 years using mixed-bed ion-exchange resins. The five kinds of core–shell spheres examined form colloidal crystals, where the critical sphere concentrations, _c, of crystallization (or melting) are high and range from 0.01 to 0.06 in volume fraction. Nearest-neighbor intersphere distances in the crystal lattice agree satisfactorily with values calculated from the sphere diameter and concentration. The crystal growth rates are between 0.1 and 0.3 s^–1 and decrease slightly as the sphere concentration increases, indicating that the crystal growth rates are from the secondary process in the colloidal crystallization mechanism, corresponding to reorientation from metastable crystals formed in the primary process and/or Ostwald-ripening process. The rigidities of the crystals range from 2 to 200 Pa, and increase sharply as the sphere concentration increases. The g factor, the parameter for crystal stability, is around 0.02 irrespective of the sphere concentration and/or the kind of core–shell sphere. There are no distinct differences in the structural, kinetic and elastic properties among the colloidal crystals of the different core–shell-type spheres, showing that the internal sphere structure does not affect the properties of the colloidal crystals. The results show that colloidal crystals form in a closed container owing to long-range repulsive forces and the Brownian movement of colloidal spheres surrounded by extended electrical double layers and that their formation is not influenced by the rigidity and internal structure of the spheres.     

Structural and dynamic properties of colloidal liquids and gases of silica spheres (29 nm in diameter) as studied by the light scattering measurements

Static and dynamic light-scattering measurements are made for colloidal-liquids and -gases of silica spheres (29 nm in diameter) in the exhaustively deionized aqueous suspension and in the presence of sodium chloride. Single broad peak is observed in the light-scattering curve and the liquid-like and gas-like distributions have been observed. Colloidal crystals are not formed at any sphere concentrations. The nearest-neighbored interparticle distances of colloidal liquids, l _obs , agree excellently with the effective diameters of spheres (d _eff ) including the electrical double layers in the effective soft-sphere model and also with the mean intersphere distances, l _o , calculated from the sphere concentration, i.e., l _obs ≈d _eff ≈ l _o . This relation supports the importance of the electrostatic interparticle repulsive interaction. Two dynamic processes have been extracted separately from the time profiles of autocorrelation function of colloidal liquids. Decay curves of colloidal gases are characterized by the single translational diffusion coefficients, which are always lower than the calculation from the Stokes-Einstein equation using true diameter of spheres and increase as ionic concentration increases. These experimental results emphasize the importance of the expanded electrical double layers and the electrostatic intersphere repulsion on the structural and dynamic properties of the colloidal liquids and gases. Electronic Publication     

Cationic gel crystals of lightly cross-linked poly(2-vinylpyridine) spheres (170∼180 nm in diameter) in the deionized aqueous suspension

Colloidal crystallization of deionized suspensions of the cationic gel spheres of lightly cross-linked poly(2-vinylpyridine), AIBA-P2VP (170～180 nm in diameter) has been studied from the microscopic observation, morphology, phase diagram, and elastic property. Critical concentrations of melting that coexisted with ion-exchange resins were low compared with those without resins and decreased as the degree of cross-linking decreased. The density of a gel sphere in suspension state (ρ), i.e., weight percent of the gel spheres divided by the corresponding volume percent, was between 0.5 and 0.8, and decreased as the degree of cross-linking of the spheres decreased. The ρ values also decreased with decreasing size of gel spheres, which supports the small P2VP gel spheres being softer than the large ones. The closest intersphere distances of the crystals were much longer than the hydrodynamic diameters of the gel spheres especially at low sphere concentrations. Fluctuation parameters evaluated from the rigidities of the crystals of AIBA-P2VP (0.05～0.09) were similar to those of gel crystals of cationic gel spheres of lightly cross-linked poly(2-vinylpyridine) spheres coated with poly(ethylene glycol), 400 nm in diameter, and thermo-sensitive gel spheres of pNIPAm, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), but larger than those of typical colloidal hard spheres. The stable crystal phase formed beyond the adsorbed monolayer of cationic gel spheres on the surface of the substrate. These experimental findings support important role of the extended electrical double layers around the cationic gel spheres in addition to the excluded volume effect of the sphere themselves on the crystallization.     

Thermo-sensitive colloidal crystals of silica spheres in the presence of large spheres with poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) shells

Thermo-sensitive colloidal crystals are prepared simply by mixing colloidal silica spheres and large thermo-sensitive gel spheres. The thermo-reversible change in the lattice spacing of colloidal crystals of monodisperse silica spheres (CS82, 103 nm in diameter) depends on the size of the admixed temperature-sensitive gel spheres. For spheres with sizes less and greater than that of the silica spheres, the lattice spacing upon temperature increase above the lower critical solution temperature of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) decreases (cf. Okubo et al. Langmuir 18:6783, 2002) and increases, respectively. A mechanism, which is able to explain these experimental findings, is proposed. Moreover, crystal growth rates and the rigidities of the thermo-sensitive colloidal crystals are studied.     

Colloidal crystals of cationic spheres

Colloidal single crystals of cationic polymer spheres (198–250 nm in diameter) in deionized aqueous dispersions were formed for the first time. The spheres used were poly(styrene-co-methacryloyloxyphenyldimethylsulfonium) cations. These cations are unstable in deionized suspensions with mixed beds of cation-exchange and anion-exchange resins. This was clarified by reflection spectroscopy, pH, conductance and -potential measurements for 250 days after suspension preparation. Colloidal crystals formed over a period of 24 h for the deionized suspensions at sphere concentrations higher than 0.09 in volume fraction. The nearest-neighbor intersphere distances coincide satisfactorily with the calculated values using the diameter and the concentration of the spheres. Alloy crystals formed from binary mixtures of the cationic polymer spheres and the anionic silica spheres when the ratio of the volume fraction of cationic spheres against the sum of the both cationic and anionic spheres was smaller than 0.3.     

Static and dynamic light-scattering of colloidal gases,liquids and crystals

Static and dynamic light-scattering measurements are made for colloidal-crystals,-liquids and-gases of silica spheres, 103 nm in diameter, in the exhaustively deionized suspension and in the presence of sodium chloride. Sharp peaks in the scattering curve are observed, for the first time, for the colloidal crystals in very diluted aqueous suspension. The product of the effective diffusion coefficient and the scattered light intensity is found constant over the whole range of the scattering angle measured for the colloidal crystals and liquids. Three and two dynamic processes have been extracted separately from time profiles of autocorrelation function of colloidal crystals and liquids, respectively from Marquadt histogram analysis. Decay curves of colloidal gases are characterized by a single translational diffusion coefficient,D ₀.D ₀ of the gases is always lower than the calculation from the Stokes-Einstein equation with the true diameter of spheres, and increases as ionic concentration increases. These experimental results emphasize the important role of the expanded electrical double layers on the diffusive properties in the colloidal crystals, liquids and gases.     

Giant colloidal crystals of fluorine-containing polymer spheres in exhaustively deionized aqueous suspensions and in the presence of sodium chloride

 Gigantic colloidal single crystals (2–6 mm) are formed for fluorine-containing polymer spheres (120–210 nm in diameter) in exhaustively deionized aqueous suspensions. The spheres used are poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFEA and PTFEB), copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorovinylether (PFA) and copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoropropylene (PTP). The phase diagrams of these spheres are obtained in the deionized suspensions and also in the presence of sodium chloride for PFA. The critical sphere concentrations of crystal melting (φ _c) for these spheres are around 0.0006 in volume fraction, which are close to, but slightly larger than, those of monodispersed polystyrene spheres (φ _c ≈ 0.00015) and colloidal silica spheres(φ _c = 0.0002–0.0004) reported previously. The crystals are largest when the sphere concentrations are a bit higher than the φ _c value and their size decreases as the sphere concentration increases. Reflection spectra are taken in sedimentation equilibrium as a function of the height from the bottom of the suspension. The static elastic modulus is estimated to be 10.8 and 28.7 Pa for PTFEA and PTP spheres at the sphere concentrations 0.00325 and 0.00322 in volume fraction, respectively. Received: 27 October 1999 Accepted in revised form: 16 November 1999     

Crystal structure of thermosensitive gel spheres of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) in the deionized aqueous suspension as studied by the static light-scattering measurements

Static light-scattering measurements of deionized suspensions of the thermosensitive gels of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) with various degrees of cross-linking and sizes were made at 20 and 40 °C. Sharp scattering peaks are observed in the scattering curve, and they were attributed to the face-centered cubic (fcc) and/or body-centered cubic lattices (bcc) in the distribution of gel spheres. The fcc and bcc crystal structures formed in the stable and unstable conditions, respectively, i.e., the former formed more favorably at high sphere concentrations and/or low temperatures. The closest intersphere distances were much longer than the hydrodynamic diameters of the gel spheres especially at low sphere concentrations. These experimental results emphasize the important role of the extended electrical double layers in the crystallization of gel spheres, though the contribution of the double layers in gel systems is weak compared with that in the typical colloidal spheres.     

Colloidal crystals of core-shell type spheres with poly(styrene) core and poly(ethylene oxide) shell

Elastic modulus and crystal growth kinetics have been studied for colloidal crystals of core–shell type colloidal spheres (diameter = 160–200 nm) in aqueous suspension. Crystallization properties of three kinds of spheres, which have poly(styrene) core and poly(ethylene oxide) shell with different oxyethylene chain length (n = 50, 80 and 150), were examined by reflection spectroscopy. The suspensions were deionized exhaustively for more than 1 year using mixed bed of ion-exchange resins. The rigidities of the crystals range from 0.11 to 120 Pa and from 0.56 to 76 Pa for the spheres of n = 50 and 80, respectively, and increase sharply as the sphere volume fraction increase. The g factor, parameter for crystal stability, range from 0.029 to 0.13 and from 0.040 to 0.11 for the spheres of n = 50 and 80, respectively. These g values indicate the formation of stable crystals, and the values were decreased as the sphere volume fraction increased. Two components of crystal growth rate coefficients, fast and slow, were observed in the order from 10⁻³ to 10¹ s⁻¹. This is due to the secondary process in the colloidal crystallization mechanism, corresponding to reorientation from metastable crystals formed in the primary process and/or Ostwald-ripening process. There are no distinct differences in the structural, kinetic and elastic properties among the colloidal crystals of the different core–shell size spheres, nor difference between those of core–shell spheres and silica or poly(styrene) spheres. The results are very reasonably interpreted by the fact that colloidal crystals are formed in a closed container owing to long-range repulsive forces and the Brownian movement of colloidal spheres surrounded by extended electrical double layers, and their formation is not influenced by the rigidity and internal structure of the spheres.