Heterogeneity of the electrostatic repulsion between colloids at the oil-water interface KU Leuven
The pairwise and multi-body interaction forces between polystyrene particles at an oil-water interface are measured. The electrostatic repulsive force has the expected dependence on particle separation for a dipole-dipole interaction, F-rep similar to r(-4), but exhibits a distribution of magnitudes in which the force depends on the particle pairs tested and sample preparation method. A gamma distribution accurately models this variation in the ...