title: Attractions between like-charged surfaces with dumbbell-shaped counterions.
abstract: We study the effect of dumbbell-like counterions on the interactions between similarly charged surfaces. Via a systematic study using Monte Carlo simulations and field theory, we fully consider electrostatic correlations and ion structure and find that their intricate coupling determines the equilibrium phase behaviors. In particular, an energetic bridging mechanism is revealed to cause surface attractions for a finite range of surface separations, even in the Poisson-Boltzmann limit.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 130-722, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Woon
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Juyeon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Pincus
mesh_terms: D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D007477:Ions