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Description
Title: | Nanoparticle Engineering of Colloidal Suspension Behavior |
Author(s): | Chan, Angel Thanda |
Doctoral Committee Chair(s): | Lewis, Jennifer A. |
Department / Program: | Materials Science and Engineering |
Discipline: | Materials Science and Engineering |
Degree Granting Institution: | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
Degree: | Ph.D. |
Genre: | Dissertation |
Subject(s): | Chemistry, Pharmaceutical |
Abstract: | We investigate the effects of highly charged nanoparticles on the phase behavior, structure, and assembly of colloidal microsphere suspensions. Specifically, by selectively tuning the electrostatic interactions between silica microspheres and polystyrene nanoparticles, we study the behavior of four key systems: (i) strongly repulsive, (ii) haloing, (iii) weakly attractive, and (iv) strongly attractive systems. In each system, a combination of nanoparticle adsorption, zeta potential, and confocal microscopy measurements are carried out to systematically study the effects of nanoparticle volume fraction, microsphere/nanoparticle size ratios, and interparticle interactions on their behavior. Our observations indicate that minimal adsorption of highly charged nanoparticles occurs on like-charged and negligibly-charged microspheres, whereas their extent of association increases dramatically with increasing microsphere-nanoparticle attraction. A rich phase behavior emerges in these systems based on whether the nanoparticle species serve as depletants, haloing, or bridging species. The phase transitions in the haloing system occur at constant nanoparticle volume fractions, &phis;nano, over a broad range of microsphere volume fractions, &phis;micro . By contrast, the observed transitions in the weakly and strongly attractive mixtures occur at a constant number ratio of nanoparticles per microsphere, Nnano/Nmicro. Important structural differences emerge, which can be exploited in the assembly of colloidal gels for direct ink writing and colloidal crystals on epitaxially patterned substrates. Finally, for the first time, we explore nanoparticle haloing as a new route for stabilizing hydrophobic colloidal drugs in aqueous suspensions media for preparation of injectable pharmaceuticals. These microsphere suspensions exhibit improved stability relative to their surfactant-stabilized counterparts after autoclaving, a critical processing step for this target applications. This research opens up a new avenue for stabilization of hydrophobic particles, when surfactant additions alone do not provide sufficient stabilization. |
Issue Date: | 2007 |
Type: | Text |
Language: | English |
Description: | 126 p. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2142/82815 |
Other Identifier(s): | (MiAaPQ)AAI3301261 |
Date Available in IDEALS: | 2015-09-25 |
Date Deposited: | 2007 |
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
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Dissertations and Theses - Materials Science and Engineering
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Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois