Adsorption trajectories and free-energy separatrices for colloidal particles in contact with a liquid-liquid interface.
We apply the recently developed triangular tessellation technique as presented by J. de Graaf et al. [Phys. Rev. E 80, 051405 (2009)] to calculate the free energy associated with the adsorption of anisotropic colloidal particles at a flat interface. From the free-energy landscape, we analyze the adsorption process, using a simplified version of Langevin dynamics. The present result is a first step towards understanding the time-dependent behavior of colloids near interfaces. This study shows a wide range of adsorption trajectories, where the emphasis lies on a strong dependence of the dynamics on the orientation of the colloid at initial contact with the interface. We believe that the observed orientational dependence in our simple model can be recovered in suitable experimental systems.
de Graaf
Joost
J
Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.degraaf1@uu.nl
Dijkstra
Marjolein
M
van Roij
René
R