DLVO theory

Common card · No. 491606

In physical chemistry, the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory explains the aggregation and kinetic stability of aqueous dispersions quantitatively and describes the force between charged surfaces interacting through a liquid medium. It combines the effects of the van der Waals attraction and the electrostatic repulsion due to the so-called double layer of counterions. The electrostatic part of the DLVO interaction is computed in the mean field approximation in the limit of low surface potentials - that is when the potential energy of an elementary charge on the surface is much smaller than the thermal energy scale, k B T {\displaystyle k_{\text{B}}T} . For two spheres of radius a {\displaystyle a} each having a charge Z {\displaystyle Z} (expressed in units of the elementary charge) separated...

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