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Glasslike Arrest in Spinodal Decomposition as a Route to Colloidal Gelation

S. Manley·H. M. Wyss·K. Miyazaki·J. C. Conrad·V. Trappe·L. J. Kaufman·D. R. Reichman·D. A. Weitz
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Abstract

Colloid-polymer mixtures can undergo spinodal decomposition into colloid-rich and colloid-poor regions. Gelation results when interconnected colloid-rich regions solidify. We show that this occurs when these regions undergo a glass transition, leading to dynamic arrest of the spinodal decomposition. The characteristic length scale of the gel decreases with increasing quench depth, and the nonergodicity parameter exhibits a pronounced dependence on scattering vector. Mode coupling theory gives a good description of the dynamics, provided we use the full static structure as input.

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S. Manley, H. M. Wyss, K. Miyazaki, J. C. Conrad, V. Trappe, L. J. Kaufman, D. R. Reichman, D. A. Weitz. 2005-12-05. Glasslike Arrest in Spinodal Decomposition as a Route to Colloidal Gelation. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.95.238302

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