What is Zeta Potential?
Brookhaven Instruments Corp.,
Zeta potential is the charge that develops at the interface between a solid surface and its liquid medium. This potential, which is measured in MilliVolts, may arise by any of several mechanisms. Among these are the dissociation of ionogenic groups in the particle surface and the differential adsorption of solution ions into the surface region. The net charge at the particle surface affects the ion distribution in the nearby region, increasing the concentration of counterions close to the surface. Thus, an electrical double layer is formed in the region of the particle-liquid interface.
This double layer (upper part of figure) consists of two parts: an inner region that includes ions bound relatively tightly to the surface, and an outer region where a balance of electrostatic forces and random thermal motion determines the ion distribution. The potential in this region, therefore, decays with increasing distance from the surface until, at sufficient distance, it reaches the bulk solution value, conventionally taken to be zero. This decay is shown by the lower part of the figure and the indication is given that the zeta potential is the value at the surface of shear.
In an electric field, as in microelectrophoresis, each particle and its most closely associated ions move through the solution as a unit, and the potential at the surface of shear between this unit and the surrounding medium is known as the zeta potential. When a layer of macromolecules is adsorbed on the particle's surface, it shifts the shear plane further from the surface and alters the zeta potential.
Zeta potential is therefore a function of the surface charge of the particle, any adsorbed layer at the interface, and the nature and composition of the surrounding suspension medium. It can be experimentally determined and, because it reflects the effective charge on the particles and is therefore related to the electrostatic repulsion between them, the zeta potential has proven to be extremely relevant to the practical study and control of colloidal stability and flocculation processes.
With kind permission of Brookhaven Instruments Corp.