Directed percolation identified as equilibrium pre-transition towards non-equilibrium arrested gel states

M. Kohl, R. F. Capellmann, M. Laurati, S. U. Egelhaaf and M. Schmiedeberg ()
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M. Kohl: Institute for Theoretical Physics II: Soft Matter, Heinrich Heine University
R. F. Capellmann: Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory, Heinrich Heine University
M. Laurati: Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory, Heinrich Heine University
S. U. Egelhaaf: Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory, Heinrich Heine University
M. Schmiedeberg: Institute for Theoretical Physics II: Soft Matter, Heinrich Heine University

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The macroscopic properties of gels arise from their slow dynamics and load-bearing network structure, which are exploited by nature and in numerous industrial products. However, a link between these structural and dynamical properties has remained elusive. Here we present confocal microscopy experiments and simulations of gel-forming colloid–polymer mixtures. They reveal that gel formation is preceded by continuous and directed percolation. Both transitions lead to system-spanning networks, but only directed percolation results in extremely slow dynamics, ageing and a shrinking of the gel that resembles synaeresis. Therefore, dynamical arrest in gels is found to be linked to a structural transition, namely directed percolation, which is quantitatively associated with the mean number of bonded neighbours. Directed percolation denotes a universality class of transitions. Our study hence connects gel formation to a well-developed theoretical framework, which now can be exploited to achieve a detailed understanding of arrested gels.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11817

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