Gelation of a Clay Colloid Suspension

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Abstract
A colloidal suspension of clay particles is modeled by a system of infinitely thin disks carrying a point quadrupole, which results from the electric double layer around the clay platelets. Monte Carlo simulations show that, at sufficiently large values of the quadrupole moment, the system undergoes a transition from a low concentration phase, where disks assemble into elongated clusters, to a space-filling gel phase at higher concentrations. The gel phase exhibits a nearly incompressible network structure similar to the “house-of-cards” structure conjectured to be typical of clay gelation.