Potentials Originating from Point-like and Homogeneously Distributed Charges on Spherical Primary Particles of Aggregates

The coulombic, Debye-Huckel and Gouy-Chapman potentials in the vicinity of a spheric colloidal particle, charged with eight elementary ionic point charges surrounded by the ionic cloud were calculated using the corresponding theoretical equations. The »potential vs. distance« from the sphere surface functions are represented graphically. The influence of the counter ion electrolyte concentration upon the thickness of the ionic cloud and the influence of the same thickness on the cited functions were calculated. The interrelation between the Debye-Huckel potentials and the coagulation rate constant was analyzed. The coagulation rate constant is recognized to be proportional to the difference between the brownian motion kinetic energy and the electrostatic repulsion energy of particles surrounded by the ionic cloud. Arguments for the inapplicability, in the colloid chemistry, of the homogeneous charge distribution double layer models based on Gouy- Chapman and Nernst potentials are described. All postulates of the proposed theories were deduced from experimental observations in the Agl colloidal system. An experiment illustrating the growth of primary stable particles and their subsequent coalescence and aggregation (clustering) is described in detail