Interaction Forces and Aggregation Rates of Colloidal Latex Particles in the Presence of Monovalent Counterions

Force profiles and aggregation rates involving positively and negatively charged polystyrene latex particles are investigated in monovalent electrolyte solutions, whereby the counterions are varied within the Hofmeister series. The force measurements are carried out with the colloidal probe technique, which is based on the atomic force microscope (AFM), while the aggregation rates are measured with time-resolved multiangle light scattering. The interaction force profiles cannot be described by classical DLVO theory, but an additional attractive short-ranged force must be included. An exponential force profile with a decay length of about 0.5 nm is consistent with the measured forces. Furthermore, the Hamaker constants extracted from the measured force profiles are substantially smaller than the theoretical values calculated from dielectric spectra. The small surface roughness of the latex particles (below 1 nm) is probably responsible for this deviation. Based on the measured force profiles, the aggregati...