Kinetics of the string-gel formation process by dipolar colloidal particles

V. I. MARCONI; PABLO SERRA; M. A. CARIGNANO

PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES

ROYAL SOC

Año: 2011 vol. 369 p. 351 - 358

1364-503X

The formation of string-gels of dipolar colloidal particles is investigated using moleculardynamics simulations. The characteristic gelation time consistently increases as thetemperature of the system increases; it also increases as the density of the systemincreases. This latter result suggests that the gel formation is not a simple nucleationprocess. In particular, the energy barriers separating the embryonic nuclei from thefinal phase appear to be lower for the low-density system, suggesting an importantentropic contribution.