title: Effect of geometrical confinement on the interaction between charged colloidal suspensions.
abstract: The effective interaction between charged colloidal particles confined between two planar like-charged walls is investigated using computer simulations of the primitive model describing asymmetric electrolytes. In detail, we calculate the effective force acting onto a single macroion and onto a macroion pair in the presence of slitlike confinement. For moderate Coulomb coupling, we find that this force is repulsive. Under strong-coupling conditions, however, the sign of the force depends on the distance to the plates and on the interparticle distance. In particular, the particle-plate interaction becomes strongly attractive for small distances which may explain the occurrence of colloidal crystalline layers near the plates observed in recent experiments.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik II, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. allahyar@thphy.uni-duesseldorf.de
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Allahyarov
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: D'Amico
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Löwen