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Science 30 September 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5744, pp. 2198 - 2201
DOI: 10.1126/science.1116589
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Reports

Colloidal Jamming at Interfaces: A Route to Fluid-Bicontinuous Gels

K. Stratford,1 R. Adhikari,2 I. Pagonabarraga,2,3 J.-C. Desplat,1,4 M. E. Cates2*

Colloidal particles or nanoparticles, with equal affinity for two fluids, are known to adsorb irreversibly to the fluid-fluid interface. We present large-scale computer simulations of the demixing of a binary solvent containing such particles. The newly formed interface sequesters the colloidal particles; as the interface coarsens, the particles are forced into close contact by interfacial tension. Coarsening is markedly curtailed, and the jammed colloidal layer seemingly enters a glassy state, creating a multiply connected, solidlike film in three dimensions. The resulting gel contains percolating domains of both fluids, with possible uses as, for example, a microreaction medium.

1 EPCC, School of Physics, University of Edinburgh, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, UK.
2 SUPA, School of Physics, University of Edinburgh, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, UK.
3 Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, C. Martí i Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
4 Irish Centre for High-End Computing, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 5 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: m.e.cates{at}ed.ac.uk

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