Finite-size effects in presence of gravity: the behavior of the susceptibility in 3He and 4He films near the liquid-vapor critical point

Critical Casimir forces in soft matter

We review recent advances in the theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies of critical Casimir forces in soft matter, with particular emphasis on their relevance for the structures of colloidal suspensions and on their dynamics. Distinct from other interactions which act in soft matter, such as electrostatic and van der Waals forces, critical Casimir forces are effective interactions characterised by the possibility to control reversibly their strength via minute temperature changes, while their attractive or repulsive character is conveniently determined via surface treatments or by structuring the involved surfaces. These features make critical Casimir forces excellent candidates for controlling the equilibrium and dynamical properties of individual colloids or colloidal dispersions as well as for possible applications in micro-mechanical systems. In the past 25 years a number of theoretical and experimental studies have been devoted to investigating these forces primarily under thermal equilibrium conditions, while their dynamical and non-equilibrium behaviour is a largely unexplored subject open for future investigations.

Sign change in the net force in sphere-plate and sphere-sphere systems immersed in nonpolar critical fluid due to the interplay between the critical Casimir and dispersion van der Waals forces

We study systems in which both long-ranged van der Waals and critical Casimir interactions are present. The latter arise as an effective force between bodies when immersed in a near-critical medium, say a nonpolar one-component fluid or a binary liquid mixture. They are due to the fact that the presence of the bodies modifies the order parameter profile of the medium between them as well as the spectrum of its allowed fluctuations. We study the interplay between these forces, as well as the total force (TF) between a spherical colloid particle and a thick planar slab and between two spherical colloid particles. We do that using general scaling arguments and mean-field-type calculations utilizing the Derjaguin and the surface integration approaches. They both are based on data of the forces between two parallel slabs separated at a distance L from each other, confining the fluctuating fluid medium characterized by its temperature T and chemical potential μ. The surfaces of the colloid particles and the slab are coated by thin layers exerting strong preference to the liquid phase of the fluid, or one of the components of the mixture, modeled by strong adsorbing local surface potentials, ensuring the so-called (+,+) boundary conditions. On the other hand, the core region of the slab and the particles influence the fluid by long-ranged competing dispersion potentials. We demonstrate that for a suitable set of colloids-fluid, slab-fluid, and fluid-fluid coupling parameters, the competition between the effects due to the coatings and the core regions of the objects involved result, when one changes T, μ, or L, in sign change of the Casimir force (CF) and the TF acting between the colloid and the slab, as well as between the colloids. This can be used for governing the behavior of objects, say colloidal particles, at small distances, say in colloid suspensions for preventing flocculation. It can also provide a strategy for solving problems with handling, feeding, trapping, and fixing of microparts in nanotechnology. Data for specific substances in support of the experimental feasibility of the theoretically predicted behavior of the CF and TF have been also presented.

Critical and near-critical phase behavior and interplay between the thermodynamic Casimir and van der Waals forces in a confined nonpolar fluid medium with competing surface and substrate potentials

We study, using general scaling arguments and mean-field type calculations, the behavior of the critical Casimir force and its interplay with the van der Waals force acting between two parallel slabs separated at a distance L from each other, confining some fluctuating fluid medium, say a nonpolar one-component fluid or a binary liquid mixture. The surfaces of the slabs are coated by thin layers exerting strong preference to the liquid phase of the fluid, or one of the components of the mixture, modeled by strong adsorbing local surface potentials ensuring the so-called (+,+) boundary conditions. The slabs, on the other hand, influence the fluid by long-range competing dispersion potentials, which represent irrelevant interactions in renormalization-group sense. Under such conditions, one usually expects attractive Casimir force governed by universal scaling function, pertinent to the extraordinary surface universality class of Ising type systems, to which the dispersion potentials provide only corrections to scaling. We demonstrate, however, that below a given threshold thickness of the system L(crit) for a suitable set of slabs-fluid and fluid-fluid coupling parameters the competition between the effects due to the coatings and the slabs can result in sign change of the Casimir force acting between the surfaces confining the fluid when one changes the temperature T, the chemical potential of the fluid μ, or L. The last implies that by choosing specific materials for the slabs, coatings, and the fluid for L≲L(crit) one can realize repulsive Casimir force with nonuniversal behavior which, upon increasing L, gradually turns into an attractive one described by a universal scaling function, depending only on the relevant scaling fields related to the temperature and the excess chemical potential, for L≫L(crit). We present arguments and relevant data for specific substances in support of the experimental feasibility of the predicted behavior of the force. It can be of interest, e.g., for designing nanodevices and for governing behavior of objects, say colloidal particles, at small distances. We formulate the corresponding criterion for determination of L(crit). The universality is regained for L≫L(crit). We also show that for systems with L≲L(crit), the capillary condensation phase diagram suffers modifications which one does not observe in systems with purely short-ranged interactions.