Abstract
Colloid-polymer mixtures can undergo spinodal decomposition into colloid-rich and colloid-poorregions. 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.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 238302 |
Pages (from-to) | 238302 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Physical Review Letters |
Volume | 95 |
Issue number | 23 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2005 |
Externally published | Yes |