COLLOIDAL DISPERSION SYSTEMS

BY
Dr. Musiba Baliruno Denis
M.PHARM-IND(UoN)
6TH/02/2017
 Introduction
• Dispersion system
Systems of two phases one dispersed in another
Can be
Coarse dispersions
Molecular dispersions
Colloidal dispersions
• Coarse
– Dispersed phase particle >1000 nm(1um)
– E.g. suspensions and emulsions
• Molecular dispersion
– Is a true solution i.e. solute homogeneously dispersed in a solvent
– the molecular size<1nm
– e.g. mixture of gases, electrolytes, metal alloys etc
 Colloidal Dispersions
• Heterogeneous systems of two phases one dispersed in
another as fine particles between 1nm – 1000nm
• Include
– Micro emulsions
– Nanoparticles
– Microspheres
• Colloidal systems are combinations of matter in any of the
3 states in which all matter exists
– Solid
– Liquid
– gas
 Classifications of colloids based on the
original states of their constituents
Dispersing medium Dispersed phase Name

solid solid Solid sol

solid liquid gel

solid gas Solid foam

liquid solid sol

liquid liquid emulsion

liquid gas foam

gas solid Solid aerosol

Gas Liquid Aerosol

 Classification cont’
• Most important among the colloids are
– Sols (solid dispersed in liquids)
– Gels (liquids dispersed in solids)
– Emulsions (liquid dispersed in liquids)
• Depending upon the nature of dispersion media, sols can
be
– Aquasols
– Alcosols
– benzosols
– Aerosol
– Organosol
 Classification of colloids based on nature of
interactions
• Depending on affinity of the dispersion media
for the dispersed phase, colloids can be
– Lyophilic colloids
• Hydrophilic – water loving
• Lipophilic – oil loving
– Lyophobic colloids
• Hydrophobic – water hating
• Lipophobic – oil hating
 Differences btn the lyophilic sols and
lyophobic sols
Property Lyophilic sols
Ease of preparation Simply by shaking the lyophilic
colloids with the dispersion
medium
Hydration Heavily hydrated
Stability Quite stable & not easily
coagulated
Reversibility Reversible
Visibility Dispersed particles not easily
visible or detectable, not even
under ultra microscope
Viscosity Much higher than for the
dispersion medium
Surface tension Usually lower than that of the
dispersion medium
Charge on particles Dispersed particles have little
or no charge on them
Lyophobic sols
Not by simply shaking but
requires techniques
Not much hydrated
Less stable & coagulated by
heating, agitation or addition
of small amounts of an
electrolyte
Irreversible
Though not easily visible can
be detected under ultra
microscope
Almost the same as for the
dispersion medium
Nearly the same as that of the
dispersion medium
Dispersed particles carry a
defined charge which is either
 Classification of colloids based on
type of the dispersed phase
• Depending upon how different substances forming
colloidal solutions acquire the particle size in the
range of 1nm – 1000nm, colloids can be
– Multimolecular colloids
– Macromolecular colloids
– Associated colloids
• Multimolecular colloids
– Formed when a large no_ of atoms or small mol of
diameter <1nm combine together in a dispersion medium
to form aggregates having size in the colloidal range
– They are held together by van der waals ‘ forces
– E.g. the gold sol, sulphur sol e.t,c
 Classification cont’
• Macromolecular colloids
– Composed of substances which form large molecules
comparable to those of colloidal particles
– They have high m.masses and are called macromolecules
& macromolecular colloids once in a suitable dispersion
medium
– Most lyophilic sols are macromolecules
– E.g. colloids formed by molecules such as starch, proteins,
gelatin. Cellulose, nucleic acids, e.t.c and synthetic
polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, synthetic
rubber etc.
 Classification cont’
• Association colloids(micelles)
– The ones which behave as normal strong electrolytes at low
concentrations but exhibit colloidal properties at higher
concentrations due to formation of aggregate particles
– These aggregates are micelles
– Total surface area of the colloidal dispersed particles is very
large due to their submicroscopic size.
– The huge area to vol ratio determines specific properties &
behavior of colloids
–
 General physical properties of colloidal
solutions
• Heterogeneity
• Visibility of dispersed particles
• Filterability
• Stability
• Color
• Tyndell effect
 Preparation of colloidal solutions
• Lyophilic colloids
– By bringing the 2 phases 2gether or warming them 2gether –
High affinity
• Lyophobic colloids
– Special methods required – no affinity at all
– The methods are divided into
• Dispersion – bigger particles are broken down to colloidal ranges and
the system stabilized by addition of stabilizing agents (mechanical
dispersion, electrical dispersion and Peptization methods)
• Condensation – smaller particles of the dispersed phase are
aggregated to form larger particle of colloidal dimensions i.e. it may
involve some chemical reactions e.g. oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis
and double decomposition. It may also involve physical methods such
as exchange of solvent
 END
Thank you for listening