ABSTRACT
Interfaces can also be affected by the adsorption of molecules. As a consequence, a trace amount of impurities dispersed in bulk with a high affinity for interfaces may be ultimately accumulated in an interfacial monomolecular layer and drastically alter the physical properties of the colloidal systems. Colloidal suspensions are composed of particles characterized by at least one dimension of sub-micrometric size. Colloidal particles of mesoscale size, i.e. intermediate between the macroscopic scale and the molecular scale, are manufactured either by degradation of the bulk material in a mechanical way or by aggregation of small molecules in a chemical way. The increase of the surface-to-volume ratio of the material is obtained by transforming the mechanical work supplied into surface energy. Surfactants also play a role in making immiscible compounds compatible with their medium. Capillarity describes the ability of mobile interfaces to deform to minimize their surface energy.
