Electrodipping force acting on solid particles at a fluid interface

We report experimental results which show that the interfacial deformation around glass particles (radius, 200-300 mum) at an oil-water (or air-water) interface is dominated by an electric force, rather than by gravity. It turns out that this force, called for brevity electrodipping, is independent of the electrolyte concentration in the water phase. The force is greater for oil-water than for air-water interfaces. Under our experimental conditions, it is due to charges at the particle-oil (instead of particle-water) boundary. The derived theoretical expressions, and the experiment, indicate that this electric force pushes the particles into water. To compute exactly the electric stresses, we solved numerically the electrostatic boundary problem, which reduces to a set of differential equations. Convenient analytical expressions are also derived. Both the experimental and the calculated meniscus profile, which are in excellent agreement, exhibit a logarithmic dependence at long distances. This gives rise to a long-range electric-field-induced capillary attraction between the particles, detected by other authors. Deviation from the logarithmic dependence is observed at short distances from the particle surface due to the electric pressure difference across the meniscus. The latter effect gives rise to an additional short-range contribution to the capillary interaction between two floating particles. The above conclusions are valid for either planar or spherical fluid interfaces, including emulsion drops. The electrodipping force, and the related long-range capillary attraction, can engender two-dimensional aggregation and self-assembly of colloidal particles. These effects could have implications for colloid science and the development of new materials.