The effects of particle configurational entropy on the flocculation of sterically stabilized dispersions

Abstract

Theories are developed that predict the magnitude of the effects of particle configurational entropy on the flocculation behaviour of sterically stabilized dispersions. The free energy associated with the loss of configurational entropy on flocculation is relatively small (less than 10kT for the usual volume fractions studied) but may be responsible for the small dependence of the critical flocculation point on volume fraction of latex reported in some, but not all, experiments.