0000000000384532
AUTHOR
Bo Jönsson
showing 18 related works from this author
Monte Carlo Simulations of a Clay Inspired Model Suspension: The Role of Rim Charge
2012
International audience; We present a theoretical investigation of a model clay dispersion in 1-1 salt solutions by varying the particle volume fraction and ionic strength as well as the charge distribution on the clay platelets. The platelets are modeled as discs with charged sites distributed on a hexagonal lattice. The edge sites can be positively charged while the remaining sites are negative giving rise to a strong charge anisotropy. Simulations are carried out using a Monte Carlo method in the canonical ensemble. The interactions between the platelet sites are described with a screened Coulomb potential plus a short range repulsive potential. Simulations show a complex phase behavior. …
Interaction of Nanometric Clay Platelets
2008
International audience; The free energy of interaction between two nanometric clay platelets immersed in an electrolyte solution has been calculated using Monte Carlo simulations as well as direct integration of the configurational integral. Each platelet has been modeled as a collection of charged spheres carrying a unit chargethe face of a platelet contains negative charges, and the edge, positive charges. The calculations predict that a configuration of “overlapping coins” is the global free energy minimum at intermediate salt concentrations (10−100 mM). A second weaker minimum, corresponding to the well-known “house of cards” configuration, also appears in this salt interval. At low sal…
Nanoscale Investigation of Particle Interactions at the Origin of the Cohesion of Cement
2007
International audience
Ion-ion correlation and charge reversal at titrating solid interfaces
2009
Confronting grand canonical titration Monte Carlo simulations (MC) with recently published titration and charge reversal (CR) experiments on silica surfaces by Dove et al. and van der Heyden it et al, we show that ion-ion correlations quantitatively explain why divalent counterions strongly promote surface charge which, in turn, eventually causes a charge reversal (CR). Titration and CR results from simulations and experiments are in excellent agreement without any fitting parameters. This is the first unambiguous evidence that ion-ion correlations are instrumental in the creation of highly charged surfaces and responsible for their CR. Finally, we show that charge correlations result in "a…
On the origin of the halo stabilization
2012
Monte Carlo simulations show that charge-regulation alone can cause highly charged zirconium nanoparticles to adsorb to a similarly charged or neutral silica particle and thereby stabilizing the latter. This mechanism, referred to as halo stabilization, is quite general and applicable in a range of systems provided that pH, van der Waals forces, and dissociation constants of the charge-regulating particles are properly chosen. In our modeling we see an overall attraction at low volume fractions of nanoparticles, while at higher a repulsive barrier is created, stabilizing the microparticles and protecting them from aggregation. The charge-regulation mechanism also turns the silica surface fr…
A New Monte Carlo Method for the Titration of Molecules and Minerals
2007
The charge state of molecules and solid/liquid interfaces is of paramount importance in the understanding of the reactivity and the physico-chemical properties of many systems. In this work, we porpose a new Monte Carlo method in the grand canonical ensemble using the primitive model, which allows us to simulate the titration behavior of macromolecules or solids at constant pH. The method is applied to the charging process of colloidal silica particles dispersed in a sodium salt solution for various concentrations and calcium silicate hydrate nano-particles in a calcium hydroxide solution. An excellent agreement is found between the experimental and simulated results.
Gel, glass and nematic states of plate-like particle suspensions: charge anisotropy and size effects
2014
The influence of the charge anisotropy and platelet size on the formation of gel and glass states and nematic phases in suspensions of plate-like particles is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations in the canonical ensemble. The platelets are modeled as discs with charged sites distributed on a hexagonal lattice. The edge sites can carry a positive charge, while the remaining sites are negatively charged giving rise to a charge anisotropy. A screened Coulomb potential plus a short range repulsive potential are used to describe the interactions between the sites of the platelets. The liquid–gel transition is found to be favored by a high charge anisotropy and by large particles. Opposite…
Monte Carlo Simulations of Parallel Charged Platelets as an Approach to Tactoid Formation in Clay
2013
The free energy of interaction between parallel charged platelets with divalent counterions has been calculated using Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the electrostatic effects on aggregation. The platelets are primarily intended to represent clay particles. With divalent counterions, the free energy for two platelets or two tactoids (clusters of parallel platelets) shows a minimum at a short separation due to the attraction caused by ion-ion correlations. In a salt-free system, the free energy of interaction has a long-range repulsive tail beyond the minimum. The repulsion increases for tactoids with larger aggregation numbers, whereas the depth of the free-energy minimum is graduall…
Coarse-Graining Intermolecular Interactions in Dispersions of Highly Charged Colloids
2012
International audience; Effective pair potentials between charged colloids, obtained from Monte Carlo simulations of two single colloids in a closed cell at the primitive model level, are shown to reproduce accurately the structure of aqueous salt-free colloidal dispersions, as determined from full primitive model simulations by Linse et al. (Linse, P.; Lobaskin, V. Electrostatic Attraction and Phase Separation in Solutions of Like-Charged Colloidal Particles. Phys. Rev. Lett.1999, 83, 4208). Excellent agreement is obtained even when ion-ion correlations are important and is in principle not limited to spherical particles, providing a potential route to coarse-grained colloidal interactions…
C-S-H/solution interface: Experimental and Monte Carlo studies
2010
International audience; The surface charge density of C-S-H particles appears to be one of the key parameters for predicting the cohesion strength, understanding the ion retention, the pollutant leakage, and admixture adsorption in hydrated cement pastes. This paper presents a Monte Carlo simulation of the surface-ions interactions that permits the prediction of surface charge density (σ), electrokinetic potential (ζ) and ions adsorption of mineral surfaces in equilibrium with a given electrolyte solution. Simulated results are compared to experimental data obtained by titration, electrokinetic potential measurements and ions uptake in the case of C-S-H suspensions. An excellent agreement i…
Experimental and theoretical evidence of overcharging of calcium silicate hydrate
2007
International audience; Electrokinetic measurements such as electrophoresis may show an inversion of the effective surface charge of colloidal particle called overcharging. This phenomenon has been studied by various theoretical approaches but up to now very few attempts of confrontation between theory and experiment have been conducted. In this work we report electrophoretic measurements as well as Monte Carlo simulations of the electrokinetic potential for the surface of calcium silicate hydrate (Csingle bondSsingle bondH), which is the major constituent of hydrated cement. In the simulations, the surface charge of Csingle bondSsingle bondH nanoparticles in equilibrium with the ionic solu…
Onset of cohesion in cement paste
2004
It is generally agreed that the cohesion of cement paste occurs through the formation of a network of nanoparticles of a calcium-silicate-hydrate ("C-S-H"). However, the mechanism by which these particles develop this cohesion has not been established. Here we propose a dielectric continuum model which includes all ionic interactions within a dispersion of C-S-H particles. It takes into account all co-ions and counterions explicitly (with pure Coulomb interactions between ions and between ions and the surfaces) and makes no further assumptions concerning their hydration or their interactions with the surface sites. At high surface charge densities, the model shows that the surface charge of…
Surface Charge Density and Electrokinetic Potential of Highly Charged Minerals: Experiments and Monte Carlo Simulations on Calcium Silicate Hydrate
2006
International audience; In this paper, we are concerned with the charging and electrokinetic behavior of colloidal particles exhibiting a high surface charge in the alkaline pH range. For such particles, a theoretical approach has been developed in the framework of the primitive model. The charging and electrokinetic behavior of the particles are determined by the use of a Monte Carlo simulation in a grand canonical ensemble and compared with those obtained through the mean field theory. One of the most common colloidal particles has been chosen to test our theoretical approach. That is calcium silicate hydrate (C−S−H) which is the main component of hydrated cement and is known for being re…
The effect of polycations on early cement paste
2010
International audience; This paper studies the possibility for improving the ductility of cement based materials by means of oligocationic additives. Actually, the setting of cement is due to ionic correlation forces between highly negatively charged C-S-H nanoparticles throughout a calcium rich solution. The main drawback of this strong attraction is its very short range that results in low elastic deformation of hydrated cementitious materials. A way to enlarge the attraction range between C-S-H particles would be to add cationic oligomers that would compete with calcium ions modifying the ionic correlation forces via a bridging mechanism of longer range, which could lead to a more ductil…
Attractive ion-ion correlation forces and the dielectric approximation.
2016
We analyze the classical problem of the interaction between two charged surfaces separated by a solution containing neutralizing counter-ions. The focus is on obtaining a description where the solvent is treated explicitly rather than through a dielectric approximation as is conventionally done. We summarize the results of three papers where we have used a Stockmayer fluid model in Monte Carlo simulations. It is shown that the attractive ion-ion correlation mechanism is also operating when the solvent is described explicitly. There appears an oscillatory component to the force, but when this is accounted for, there is a semi-quantitative agreement between the continuum model and the model w…
Liquid Crystal Phases in Suspensions of Charged Plate-Like Particles
2012
International audience; Anisotropic interactions in colloidal suspensions have recently emerged as a route for the design of new soft materials. Nonisotropic particles can form nematic, smectic, hexatic, and columnar liquid crystals. Although the formation of these phases is well rationalized when excluded volume is solely at play, the role of electrostatic interactions still remains unclear and even less so when particles present a charge heterogeneity, for example, clays. Here, we use Monte Carlo simulations of concentrated suspensions of charged disk-like particles to reveal the role of Coulomb interactions and charge anisotropy underlying liquid crystal formation and structures. We obse…
The growth of charged platelets.
2014
Growth models of charged nanoplatelets are investigated with Monte Carlo simulations and simple theory. In a first model, 2-dimensional simulations in the canonical ensemble are used to demonstrate that the growth of a single weakly charged platelet could be limited by its own internal repulsion. The short range attractive interaction in the crystal is modeled with a square well potential while the electrostatic interactions are described with a screened Coulomb potential. The qualitative behavior of this case can also be described by simply balancing the attractive crystal energy with the screened Coulomb repulsion between the crystal sites. This repulsion is a free energy term dominated b…
Controlling the cohesion of cement paste
2005
The main source of cohesion in cement paste is the nanoparticles of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), which are formed upon the dissolution of the original tricalcium silicate (C(3)S). The interaction between highly charged C-S-H particles in the presence of divalent calcium counterions is strongly attractive because of ion-ion correlations and a negligible entropic repulsion. Traditional double-layer theory based on the Poisson-Boltzmann equation becomes qualitatively incorrect in these systems. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations in the framework of the primitive model of electrolyte solution is then an alternative, where ion-ion correlations are properly included. In addition to divalent calciu…