A theory of interactions between polarizable dielectric spheres

Jian Qin; Jiyuan Li; Victor Lee; Heinrich Jaeger; Juan J de Pablo; Karl F Freed

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2016.02.033

A theory of interactions between polarizable dielectric spheres

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2016 May 1:469:237-241. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2016.02.033. Epub 2016 Feb 12.

Authors

Jian Qin¹, Jiyuan Li², Victor Lee³, Heinrich Jaeger³, Juan J de Pablo⁴, Karl F Freed⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address: jianq@stanford.edu.
² Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
³ Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
⁴ Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA. Electronic address: depablo@uchicago.edu.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Electronic address: freed@uchicago.edu.

PMID: 26896771
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2016.02.033

Abstract

Surface charging or polarization can strongly affect the nature of interactions between charged dielectric objects, particularly when sharp dielectric discontinuities are involved. By relying on a generalized image method, we derive an analytical, perturbative theory of the polarization and the interactions between charged particles in many-body systems. The validity and accuracy of the theory are established by comparing its predictions to full-blown numerical solutions. The importance of polarizability is then demonstrated for clusters of dielectric spheres, as well as a periodic crystal of charged dielectric spheres arranged into a NaCl-type lattice. The analytical framework for understanding the consequences of polarization will enable molecular simulations of large systems of polarizable particles.

Keywords: Dielectrics; Image method; Particulate aggregate; Polarization.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.