Chemistry of Colloid- CHM 232

   The colloid is said to be stable when particles remain suspended in the solution without settling down i.e. the dispersed phase. Stability is hindered by aggregation and sedimentation phenomena, which are driven by the colloid’s tendency to reduce surface energy. In order to stabilize the colloidal system, we need to reduce the interfacial tension between the colloidal particles. Aggregation is due to the sum of the interaction forces between particles. If attractive forces (such as van der Waals forces) prevail over the repulsive ones (such as the electrostatic ones) particles aggregate in clusters