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Colloidal gels

Clay goes patchy

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Empty liquids and equilibrium gels have so far been only theoretical possibilities, predicted for colloids with patchy interactions. But evidence of both has now been found in Laponite, a widely studied clay.

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Figure 1: Phase diagram of diluted Laponite suspensions6.
Figure 2: Models of patchy colloids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Willem K. Kegel and Henk N. W. Lekkerkerker are at the Van't Hoff Laboratory, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands,

    Willem K. Kegel & Henk N. W. Lekkerkerker

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  1. Willem K. Kegel
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  2. Henk N. W. Lekkerkerker
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Kegel, W., Lekkerkerker, H. Clay goes patchy. Nature Mater 10, 5–6 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2927

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