(42aj) Electrophoresis of Two Spheres Along Their Line of Centers: Influence of Particle-Particle Interaction Forces

Electrophoresis of
two spheres along their line of centers: influence of particle-particle interaction
forces

Shiojenn Tseng,¹ Chih-Hua Huang,² Jyh-Ping
Hsu^2,*

¹Department of Mathematics, Tamkang University, Tamsui, Taipei, Taiwan 25137

²Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10617 Tel: 886-2-23637448, Fax: 886-2-23623040,
E-mail: jphsu@ntu.edu.tw

ABSTRACT

   Considering recent applications of
electrophoresis conduced in nanoscaled devices, where particle-particle
interaction can play a role, we studied for the first time the electrophoresis
of two rigid spheres along their center line, taking account of the
hydrodynamic, electric, and van der Waals interactions between them. Under the
conditions of constant surface potential and surface charge density, the
influences of the level of surface potential/charge density, the bulk salt concentration, and the particle-particle distance on their
electrokinetic behaviors are examined. Numerical simulation reveals that these
behaviors are much more complicated and interesting than those of isolated
particles. In particular, we show that care must be taken in choosing an appropriate
particle concentration in relevant experiment to avoid obtaining unreliable
mobility data.

* Corresponding author e-mail: jphsu@ntu.edu.tw (J.-P. Hsu)