The Generalized Stability Model and Its Applications in Polymer Colloids

This chapter reviews the generalized stability model developed in recent years Jia et al. (J. Colloid Interface Sci. 302: 187-202, 2006) and its application to different polymer colloids. The most important feature of this model is that it accounts simultaneously for the interplay between different physicochemical processes, such as surfactant adsorption equilibrium on the particle surface, association equilibria of surface charges with counterions involved in the system, and DLVO and non-DLVO colloidal interactions. Through its application to different polymer colloids produced from industrial polymerization processes, we demonstrate that the generalized stability model is powerful and capable of describing the stability of the most complicated colloidal systems. After the model has been established, it can be used to analyze how the interplay of the relevant processes affects the stability of colloids, which is not often feasible through experimental investigation.