Long-Range Electrostatic Attractions between Identically Charged Particles in Confined Geometries: An Unresolved Problem.
Long-range electrostatic attractions between identical colloidal particles in confined geometries have been observed experimentally by many workers. A satisfactory theoretical explanation for this behavior has proven elusive. Recent numerical calculations and reports (Nature 393, 621-623, 663-665 (1998)), however, have suggested that this problem is closed by demonstrating that this surprising effect is to be found naturally within the well-established Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory. We rigorously prove that these claims are false; within the framework of the PB theory, the interaction between identical colloidal particles is always repulsive, irrespective of whether the particles are isolated or confined. A satisfactory theoretical explanation of this surprising phenomenon thus remains an unresolved problem. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
Sader
JE
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
Chan
DY