Hnw. Lekkerkerker et al., INTERACTIONS, PHASE-TRANSITIONS AND METASTABLE STATES IN CONCENTRATEDCOLLOIDAL DISPERSIONS, Physica. A, 213(1-2), 1995, pp. 18-29
We describe three situations in which strong, short-ranged attractive
interactions between colloidal particles arise. These attractions can
be induced by the quality of the solvent, addition of non-adsorbing po
lymer or addition of small colloidal particles. In all three cases pha
se transitions arise. On further increasing the strength of the attrac
tions, the attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium is severely slowed
down, or even suppressed.