ABSTRACT
Particle stability, like solute solubility, is favored when, at contact, ΔGTOTiwi > –1 kT, and especially when ΔGTOTiwi > 0 (see Chapter XXII). However, in the case of particles with radii R 10 to 100 nm, a certain measure of stability may occur, even if, at contact (i.e., at = o), ΔGTOTiwi < –1 kT. This is due to the fact that at certain interparticle distances, > o, it may well occur that ΔGTOTiwi () > 0. To ascertain the values which ΔGTOTiwi can assume, as a function of the interparticle distance, , in a given particle suspension, ΔGiwi must be separately plotted vs. for all three different functions (LW, AB, EL), and then combined into a ΔGTOTiwi vs. plot.
