https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00373-9
Regular Article
Electrostatic interactions between charge regulated spherical macroions
1
School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
2
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187, Dresden, Germany
3
CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
4
Wenzhou Institute of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
5
Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Guangdong, Dongguan, China
6
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
7
Wenzhou Institute of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 325011, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
8
Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Received:
4
August
2023
Accepted:
20
October
2023
Published online:
29
November
2023
We study the interaction between two charge regulating spherical macroions with dielectric interior and dissociable surface groups immersed in a monovalent electrolyte solution. The charge dissociation is modelled via the Frumkin-Fowler-Guggenheim isotherm, which allows for multiple adsorption equilibrium states. The interactions are derived from the solutions of the mean-field Poisson-Boltzmann type theory with charge regulation boundary conditions. For a range of conditions we find symmetry breaking transitions from symmetric to asymmetric charge distribution exhibiting annealed charge patchiness, which results in like-charge attraction even in a univalent electrolyte—thus fundamentally modifying the nature of electrostatic interactions in charge-stabilized colloidal suspensions.
Dedicated to the legacy of fundamental contributions of Fyl Pincus to macromolecular electrostatics that have enlightened our understanding of complex (bio)molecular systems and have inspired and continue to inspire the soft-matter community.
Co-first authors: Hu Ruixuan and Arghya Majee.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
