Polymer induced depletion potentials in polymer-colloid mixtures

The depletion interactions between two colloidal plates or between two colloidal spheres, induced by interacting polymers in a good solvent, are calculated theoretically and by computer simulations. A simple analytical theory is shown to be quantitatively accurate for the case of two plates. A related depletion potential is derived for two spheres; it also agrees very well with direct computer simulations. Theories based on ideal polymers show important deviations with increasing polymer concentration: They overestimate the range of the depletion potential between two plates or two spheres at all densities, with the largest relative change occurring in the dilute regime. They underestimate the well depth at contact for the case of two plates, but overestimate it for two spheres. Depletion potentials are also calculated using a coarse graining approach which represents the polymers as "soft colloids;" good agreement is found in the dilute regime. Finally, the effect of the polymers on colloid-colloid osmotic virial coefficients is related to phase behavior of polymer-colloid mixtures. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.