Ebook: Nanoparticles and Nanostructured Films: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

The Colloidal Domain by Evans and Wennerstrom is a comprehensive guided tour into the realm of colloidal behavior. Every chapter opens with a summary of key concepts (concept map) that one must commit oneself to learn through the development, through theory and examples, presented in that chapter. The authors have chosen to title every sub-section with a sentence or a phrase that summarizes the ideas developed and demonstrated there. The text is written in a style that makes it an excellent textbook for use in both undergraduate and graduate classes.

The typical examples come from the field of surfactants, from the behavior of bilayers and micelles. Hence the text first describes the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules, introducing key thermodynamic principles that guide it, including the role of surfaces and surface tension; and the kinetic processes that control it. These concepts come handy later when the behavior of micelles, bilayers and emulsions in general is discussed. I really enjoyed the chapter on forces relevant to the colloidal domain, which presents the essential expressions and concepts in a very useful and concise fashion. The development on forces in colloids paves way for equally illustrative discussion of the phase behavior and the kinetic and thermodynamic factors that contribute to the stability of colloids. In this context, Gouy-Chapman theory, Debye-Huckel theory and DLVO theory, are presented, and role of dissolved ions and polymers is demonstrated in a very insightful fashion.

I recommend the text on Colloidal Dispersions by Russel, Saville and Schowalter to readers interested in learning more about colloidal dispersions based on particulate matter, and the text by Morrison & Ross for them who have more interest in foams. Most soft matter texts (say by Hamley, or R. A. L. Jones or Ron Larson) include discussion on colloidal dispersions, and one may wish to consult them to see how the knowledge of colloidal behavior provides good starting point for learning about polymers, gels and liquid crystals.

I highly recommend this textbook for beginners, teachers, students and researchers. I hope more and more texts will follow this text in its lucid and comprehensive presentation of fundamental concepts.