FORMATION OF COLLOIDAL CLUSTERS AND CHAINS AT THE AIR WATER INTERFACE/

Further to the reported formation of 2-dimensional foam and cluster st ructures of latex colloidal particles at the air/water interface, a de tailed analysis and interpretation are presented about the cluster for mation and the equilibrium duster size. Many cell walls within the foa m structure are formed by a single row of colloidal particles (a collo idal chain), whose stabilization by particles with only isotropic inte ractions is remarkable. It is proposed that a colloidal chain can exis t in a system of purely isotropic interactions, due to a long range st abilization arising from repulsive interactions.