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colloid
Colloids, Solutions, and Mixtures
Classification of Colloids
One way of classifying colloids is to group them according to the phase (solid, liquid, or gas) of the dispersed substance and of the medium of dispersion. A gas may be dispersed in a liquid to form a foam (e.g., shaving lather or beaten egg white) or in a solid to form a solid foam (e.g., styrofoam or marshmallow). A liquid may be dispersed in a gas to form an aerosol (e.g., fog or aerosol spray), in another liquid to form an emulsion (e.g., homogenized milk or mayonnaise), or in a solid to form a gel (e.g., jellies or cheese). A solid may be dispersed in a gas to form a solid aerosol (e.g., dust or smoke in air), in a liquid to form a sol (e.g., ink or muddy water), or in a solid to form a solid sol (e.g., certain alloys).
A further distinction is often made in the case of a dispersed solid. In some cases (e.g., a dispersion of sulfur in water) the colloidal particles have the same internal structure as a bulk of the solid. In other cases (e.g., a dispersion of soap in water) the particles are an aggregate of small molecules and do not correspond to any particular solid structure. In still other cases (e.g., a dispersion of a protein in water) the particles are actually very large single molecules. A different distinction, usually made when the dispersing medium is a liquid, is between lyophilic and lyophobic systems. The particles in a lyophilic system have a great affinity for the solvent, and are readily solvated (combined, chemically or physically, with the solvent) and dispersed, even at high concentrations. In a lyophobic system the particles resist solvation and dispersion in the solvent, and the concentration of particles is usually relatively low.
Formation of Colloids
Properties of Colloids
One property of colloid systems that distinguishes them from true solutions is that colloidal particles scatter light. If a beam of light, such as that from a flashlight, passes through a colloid, the light is reflected (scattered) by the colloidal particles and the path of the light can therefore be observed. When a beam of light passes through a true solution (e.g., salt in water) there is so little scattering of the light that the path of the light cannot be seen and the small amount of scattered light cannot be detected except by very sensitive instruments. The scattering of light by colloids, known as the Tyndall effect, was first explained by the British physicist John Tyndall. When an ultramicroscope (see microscope) is used to examine a colloid, the colloidal particles appear as tiny points of light in constant motion; this motion, called Brownian movement, helps keep the particles in suspension. Absorption is another characteristic of colloids, since the finely divided colloidal particles have a large surface area exposed. The presence of colloidal particles has little effect on the colligative properties (boiling point, freezing point, etc.) of a solution.
The particles of a colloid selectively absorb ions and acquire an electric charge. All of the particles of a given colloid take on the same charge (either positive or negative) and thus are repelled by one another. If an electric potential is applied to a colloid, the charged colloidal particles move toward the oppositely charged electrode; this migration is called electrophoresis. If the charge on the particles is neutralized, they may precipitate out of the suspension. A colloid may be precipitated by adding another colloid with oppositely charged particles; the particles are attracted to one another, coagulate, and precipitate out. Addition of soluble ions may precipitate a colloid; the ions in seawater precipitate the colloidal silt dispersed in river water, forming a delta. A method developed by F. G. Cottrell reduces air pollution by removing colloidal particles (e.g., smoke, dust, and fly ash) from exhaust gases with electric precipitators. Particles in a lyophobic system are readily coagulated and precipitated, and the system cannot easily be restored to its colloidal state. A lyophilic colloid does not readily precipitate and can usually be restored by the addition of solvent.
Thixotropy is a property exhibited by certain gels (semisolid, jellylike colloids). A thixotropic gel appears to be solid and maintains a shape of its own until it is subjected to a shearing (lateral) force or some other disturbance, such as shaking. It then acts as a sol (a semifluid colloid) and flows freely. Thixotropic behavior is reversible, and when allowed to stand undisturbed the sol slowly reverts to a gel. Common thixotropic gels include oil well drilling mud, certain paints and printing inks, and certain clays. Quick clay, which is thixotropic, has caused landslides in parts of Scandinavia and Canada.
Foam
a dispersed system with a cellular internal structure. A foam consists of gas or vapor bubbles separated by thin layers of liquid. Owing to the size of the bubbles, which varies from fractions of a millimeter to several centimeters, foams are classified as coarse dispersion systems.
The total volume of gas that is included within foams may exceed the volume of the dispersion medium, that is, the volume of the liquid layers, by a factor of several hundreds (see DISPERSION MEDIUM). The ratio of the volume of a foam to the volume of the liquid phase is the foam’s multiplicity factor. In highly dispersed foams, the bubbles convert into polyhedral cells, and the liquid layers into films that are several hundreds or, in some cases, several tens of nanometers thick. Such films form a framework that is somewhat stable and elastic, and thus, foams have the properties of structured systems (see DISPERSE STRUCTURE and GELS).
One of the major characteristics of foams is time stability, which can be expressed by the time that is required for a 50-percent reduction of the original volume or height of a layer of foam; among other evidences of a foam’s time stability is the change in the degree of dispersion. Foaming takes place either by dispersion of a gas in a liquid medium or by release of a nascent gas phase within the bulk of a liquid. Stable, highly dispersed foams can be obtained using foaming agents—substances that stabilize foams. These substances facilitate foaming and hinder the drainage of liquid from the foam films, thus preventing coalescence of the bubbles. Like stabilizers of emulsions and of lyophobic colloid systems, they reduce surface tension and create an adsorptive surface with positive disjoining pressure. Soaps, soaplike surfactants, and some soluble polymers are especially efficient stabilizers in aqueous mediums, forming layers on the interface of the liquid and gas phases with highly pronounced structural and mechanical properties. An increase in the viscosity of the dispersion medium increases the stability of a foam. Pure liquids with low viscosity do not foam.
Many types of stable foams with carbon dioxide as the gas phase are widely used in fire extinguishers. These foams are produced either directly in the extinguisher or in another type of foam generator. Foam flotation is used to concentrate valuable minerals. Many liquid and semiliquid food products are foamed and subsequently hardened, for example, breads, biscuits, and various types of confectioneries and creams. Solid, structural cellular materials, for example foam glass, foamed slag, expanded plastics, and porous rubbers, are also obtained by foaming originally liquid suspensions, melts, solutions, or polymer mixtures.
Antifoams are used to destroy foams or to prevent foaming, since in several technological processes, especially in the chemical, textile, and food-processing industries, foaming is undesirable. Effective antifoams are surfactants that displace foaming agents from the surface of the liquid but do not themselves stabilize the foam. They include various alcohols, ethers, and alkylamines. Sometimes, foams are removed by high temperatures, by mechanical means, or simply by settling.
L. A. SHITS