Electrophoretic mobility of a charged colloidal particle: A computer simulation study

Abstract

We study the mobility of a charged colloidal particle in a constant homogeneous electric field by means of computer simulations. The simulation method combines a lattice Boltzmann scheme for the fluid with standard Langevin dynamics for the colloidal particle, which is built up from a net of bonded particles forming the surface of the colloid. The coupling between the two subsystems is introduced via friction forces. In addition explicit counterions, also coupled to the fluid, are present. We observe a non-monotonous dependence of the electrophoretic mobility on the bare colloidal charge. At low surface charge density we observe a linear increase of the mobility with bare charge, whereas at higher charges, where more than half of the ions are co-moving with the colloid, the mobility decreases with increasing bare charge.