New mechanism of electro-orientation: The interaction of field-induced charges with equilibrium double layer

COLL 454

Oksana Shramko, Department of Native Disperse Systems, Department of Native Disperse Systems, Institute of Biocolloidal Chemistry, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Vernadsky Blvd. 42, 03142 Kyiv, Ukraine
The polarization of the electric double layer (EDL) of colloid particle in electrolyte solution has been attendant by variations of the electrolyte concentration (so-called concentration polarization of the electric double layer). The action of the applied electric field on the field-induced variations of the ion concentrations causes the field-induced ionic charge distribution of the second power with respect to applied field strength. The space distribution of this, quadratic by applied field, field-induced ionic charge in the electrolyte solution adjoined to the particle, corresponds the tendency to the increasing of the co-ions concentration and the decreasing of the counter-ions concentration along the beam, coinciding with the field direction. The interaction of this field-induced charge distribution with equilibrium surface charge contributes to the orientation of non-spherical particles, and, hence, to the electrooptic effect. This new contribution (which may be named “the contribution of non-linear polarization”), as it is clear from the above explanation, has the same (second) order on the strength of the weak applied field as another well-known contributions (from permanent and from induced dipole moments). The quantitative comparison of the contributions of non-linear polarization to that of induced dipole moment for low-frequency limit of the electrooptic effect was made as a function of Z-potential, of dimensionless thickness of EDL, and of a ratio ”particle dielectric permmittivity/media dielectric permmittivity”.