Colloidal stability of electrostatically stabilized sol particles.

The colloid stability of ferric hydroxide sol has been investigated at three different HCl concentrations. The total HCl concentration in the sols was A>B>C, the amount of HCl adsorbed was A=B>C. The parameters which characterize the stability (flocculation value, gelation concentration, repeptizability) are related to the amount of adsorbed HCl, because this property governs the hydrophility of the sols. In contrast, the peptizability of powders after drying the sols depends on the total concentration of HCl in the system. The hydrochloric acid impedes the condensation of surface groups to Fe–O–Fe bonds.From water vapor adsorption and heat of immersion data the hydration potential barrier is constructed which is comparable to the barrier according to the DLVO theory The differences and anomalies in the stability of sols are interpreted as differences in the hydrophility of samples.