Silica hydrosols: Influence of the refractive index of the electrolyte solution on the turbidity and on the interparticle interactions

Due to the small difference between the refractive indices of water and silica, the addition of salt decreases the turbidity of silica sols, The decrease of turbidity must not be attributed to an influence of the electrolyte on the hydration repulsive forces between silica particles. The electrolyte also weakens the attractive Van Der Waals forces. (C) 1997 Academic Press, Inc.