An effective geometrical approach to the structure of colloidal suspensions of very anisometric particles

¹  LEMTA, Nancy University, CNRS, UMR 7563 - BP 160, 54501 Vandoeuvre Cedex, France, EU
²  LEM, Nancy University, CNRS UMR 7569 - BP 40, 54501 Vandoeuvre Cedex, France, EU
³  LPS, Paris Sud, CNRS, UMR 8502 - Bâtiment 510, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France, EU
⁴  ICG, Université Montpellier, CNRS, UMR 5253 - CC 1700, Montpellier Cedex 5, France, EU
⁵  LPMC, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, UMR 7643 - 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France, EU

Corresponding author: christophe.baravian@ensem.inpl-nancy.fr

Received: 6 March 2010
Accepted: 23 April 2010

Abstract

We show in the present letter that the organization of colloidal suspensions of very anisometric repulsive particles can be understood on the basis of simple geometrical considerations. Using a large set of rod-like and plate-like particles, we first evidence that the experimental inter-particle distances can be accurately predicted from geometrical constraints. We then show that the experimental static structure factors can be satisfactorily fitted using an effective Percus-Yevick structure factor. The fit parameters are then interpreted in terms of the co-excluded volumes of effective ghost particles, which further supports the geometrical representation previously developed.