We present the phase diagram of a colloid-polymer mixture in which the radius a of the colloidal spheres is approximately the same as the radius R of a polymer coil (q=R/a≈1). A three-phase coexistence region is experimentally observed, previously only reported for colloid-polymer mixtures with smaller polymer chains (q≲0.6). A recently developed generalized free-volume theory (GFVT) for mixtures of hard spheres and non-adsorbing excluded-volume polymer chains gives a quantitative description of the phase diagram. Monte Carlo simulations also agree well with experiment. Copyright © EPLA, 2008.
Materials by design for sustainable solutions in the energy, medical, transport, and engineering sectors
