Introduction

Abstract

Apart from such similarities, there are also distinct differences between atoms and colloidal particles. In contrast to pair interactions between atoms, interactions between colloidal particles can be tuned by choosing particle type, temperature, solvent, by supplementing additives such as electrolytes, polymers or colloidal particles, or by modifying the particle surface. Since the 1970s it gradually became clear that adding small particles or polymers that do not adsorb onto the colloids opens up a wide variety of possibilities to tune the phase behaviour of colloidal dispersions. The interactions mediated by such non-adsorbing species and the resulting phase behaviour are at the core of this book. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.