The structure and assembly of colloidal particles in complex suspensions and flows: Exploring aerosols, flocculates, and spheres.

Cari Dutcher

2:30 PM on 2014-11-07

319 Akerman Hall

The structure and assembly of particles suspended in a liquid or gaseous phase are known to play essential roles in environmental fields ranging from hydrology to atmospheric science, yet many basic aspects of particle dynamics in complex systems are still not well understood. In this talk, recent advancements in our understanding of colloidal particle structure, formation, and aggregation in areas of environmental remediation will be highlighted. Particles will range from atmospheric aerosols, to polymer-particle flocculates, and charged spherical beads. First, a novel method for predicting the internal structure of atmospheric aerosol particles will be introduced using biphasic microfluidic flows for generating, trapping, and perturbing two-phase systems. Second, new studies of flocculation of suspended particles using water-soluble ionic polymers in micro- and macro-scale flows will be presented for water treatment applications. Third, electrohydrodynamic flows used to form closed-packed patterns of colloidal particles near electrodes will be discussed, including observations of surprising low frequency order-to-disorder transitions. The talk will end with implications for the use of electrohydrodynamic flow for studies of polyelectrolyte-particle assemblies.