Multiphase coexistence in polydisperse colloidal mixtures

The authors study the phase behavior of mixtures of monodisperse colloidal spheres with a depletion agent which can have arbitrary shape and can possess a polydisperse size or shape distribution. In the low concentration limit considered here, the authors can employ the free-volume theory and take the geometry of particles of the depletion agent into account within the framework of fundamental measure theory. The authors apply their approach to study the phase diagram of a mixture of (monodisperse) colloidal spheres and two polydisperse polymer components. By fine tuning the distribution of the polymer, it is possible to construct a complex phase diagram which exhibits two stable critical points.