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Advances in Colloid and Interface Science (v.136, #1-2)

Editorial Board (pp. iii).

Kinetics of reactions catalyzed by enzymes in solutions of surfactants by María A. Biasutti; Elsa B. Abuin; Juana J. Silber; N. Mariano Correa; Eduardo A. Lissi (pp. 1-24).

The effect of surfactants, both in water-in-oil microemulsions (hydrated reverse micelles) and aqueous solutions upon enzymatic processes is reviewed, with special emphasis on the effect of the surfactant upon the kinetic parameters of the process. Differences and similarities between processes taking place in aqueous and organic solvents are highlighted, and the main models currently employed to interpret the results are briefly discussed.

Keywords: Enzymatic catalysis; Sufactants; Micelles

Review on the dynamics and micro-structure of pH-responsive nano-colloidal systems by Beng H. Tan; Kam C. Tam (pp. 25-44).

This review presents an overview on the research on pH-responsive microgel particles in the last 10 years. Microgels are cross-linked latex particles that are swollen in a good solvent. Significant quantitative studies have been conducted to investigate the swelling behavior (microscopic) and rheological (macroscopic) properties of the pH-responsive microgel particles as a function of neutralization degree, ionic strength, and cross-linked density. Mono-dispersed, alkali-swellable microgels containing carboxylic acid lattices, whose properties display extreme pH sensitivity in water is considered in detail in terms of swelling behavior and rheological properties. Their stability in solution and ability to undergo reversible volume phase transitions in response to pH makes them ideal model systems for the development of a semi-empirical as well as theoretical approach for predicting the viscosity of dilute and concentrated hard and soft sphere systems. The review concludes with a discussion of some recent applications of pH-responsive microgel particles.

Keywords: pH-responsive microgel; Swelling mechanism; Rheological behavior; Theoretical model; Semi-empirical model

Template-based synthesis of nanorod, nanowire, and nanotube arrays by Guozhong Cao; Dawei Liu (pp. 45-64).

This review introduces and summarizes the fundamentals and various technical approaches developed for the template-based synthesis of nanorod, nanowire and nanotube arrays. After a brief introduction to various concepts for the growth of nanorods, nanowires and nanobelts, attention will be focused mainly on the most widely used and well established techniques for the template-based growth of nanorod arrays: electrochemical deposition, electrophoretic deposition, filling of templates by capillary force and centrifugation, and chemical conversion. In each section, relevant fundamentals will be first introduced, followed with examples to illustrate the specific details of each technique.

Keywords: Nanorod arrays; Template-based synthesis; Solution; Colloidal based synthesis

Confocal microscopy of colloidal particles: Towards reliable, optimum coordinates by M.C. Jenkins; S.U. Egelhaaf (pp. 65-92).

Over the last decade, the light microscope has become increasingly useful as a quantitative tool for studying colloidal systems. The ability to obtain particle coordinates in bulk samples from micrographs is particularly appealing. In this paper we review and extend methods for optimal image formation of colloidal samples, which is vital for particle coordinates of the highest accuracy, and for extracting the most reliable coordinates from these images. We discuss in depth the accuracy of the coordinates, which is sensitive to the details of the colloidal system and the imaging system. Moreover, this accuracy can vary between particles, particularly in dense systems. We introduce a previously unreported error estimate and use it to develop an iterative method for finding particle coordinates. This individual-particle accuracy assessment also allows comparison between particle locations obtained from different experiments. Though aimed primarily at confocal microscopy studies of colloidal systems, the methods outlined here should transfer readily to many other feature extraction problems, especially where features may overlap one another.

Keywords: PACS; 07.05.Kf; 07.05.Pj; 42.30.Va; 82.70.Dd; 87.64.Tt; 87.64.RrConfocal microscopy; Colloids; Feature location; Particle tracking; Image analysis

Imaging techniques applied to characterize bitumen and bituminous emulsions by M.A. Rodríguez-Valverde; P. Ramón-Torregrosa; A. Páez-Dueñas; M.A. Cabrerizo-Vílchez; R. Hidalgo-Álvarez (pp. 93-108).

The purpose of this article is to present some important advances in the imaging techniques currently used in the characterization of bitumen and bituminous emulsions. Bitumen exhibits some properties, such as a black colour and a reflecting surface at rest, which permit the use of optical techniques to study the macroscopic behaviour of asphalt mixes in the cold mix technology based on emulsion use. Imaging techniques allow monitoring in situ the bitumen thermal sensitivity as well as the complex phenomenon of emulsion breaking. Evaporation-driven breaking was evaluated from the shape of evaporating emulsion drops deposited onto non-porous and hydrophobic substrates. To describe the breaking kinetics, top-view images of a drying emulsion drop placed on an aggregate sheet were acquired and processed properly. We can conclude that computer-aided image analysis in road pavement engineering can elucidate the mechanism of breaking and curing of bituminous emulsion.

Keywords: Bitumen; Bituminous emulsion; Thermal sensitivity; Breaking kinetics; Image analysis

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Advances in Colloid and Interface Science (v.136, #1-2)

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Advances in Colloid and Interface Science (v.136, #1-2)