Entropic patchiness: Effects of colloid shape and depletion

Andrei V. Petukhov*, Remco Tuinier, Gert Jan Vroege

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper reviews ‘entropic patchiness’ of colloidal particles. On the one hand this may be due to their intrinsic tendency to form certain shape-dependent configurations in crowded suspensions, on the other hand this can be strongly enhanced by using depletion interactions that are also of purely entropic origin. A brief account of the Onsager theory and its consequences for the formation of colloidal liquid crystals of highly anisometric particles is presented. It is further supplemented by a recap of the description of depletion attraction between colloids and the effects of their shape. A number of recent examples exploiting entropic patchiness are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)54-61
Number of pages8
JournalCurrent Opinion in Colloid and Interface Science
Volume30
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2017

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