From dispersed nano-objects to solutions - A thermodynamic approach

Nanotechnologies take now a wide interest both in the applied and fundamental concerns. The interfacial properties of nano-particles at the fluid-fluid interfaces question the physicist on the extension of the Gibbs surface thermodynamics to interfaces in which nano-particles are entrapped as dispersion stabilizers [K.D. Danov, P.A. Kralchevsky, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 298 (2006) 213] (foams or emulsions). An attempt is proposed to give the physical meaning of the measured surface properties of nano-particles attached to fluid-fluid interfaces like the so-called dynamic surface tension and surface dilational elasticity of suspensions in terms of wetting of the particles at the interface. The Hill [T.L. Hill, Thermodynamics of Small Systems, W.A. Benjamin, New York, 1963] theory for small systems linked to the dissipation fluctuation theorem should give a deeper insight in the statistical mechanics understanding of the interfacial region in which nano-particles are imbedded. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.