Exploring colloidal stability and migration dynamics through integrated photonic into aqueous black carbon dispersion

This study investigates the migration and stability of colloidal suspensions through quasi-surfacic resonant analyses. The stability of colloidal suspensions is crucial in various industries such as food production, pharmaceutical formulations, and petroleum fields, where ensuring product quality and longevity is essential. The investigation presented here focuses on black carbon nano-powder dispersed in aqueous solutions, both with and without the incorporation of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant. These solutions result in opaque and densely darkened mixtures, presenting challenges for conventional analytical techniques. To address this challenge, sensors based on integrated photonics are developed. These sensors consist of organic UV210 Micro-Resonators (MRs) shaped and fabricated via photolithography onto oxidized silicon substrates. The photonic chip is then integrated into a test platform where detection and signal processing are performed using a spectrometer and dedicated MATLAB codes to monitor optical measurements in real-time, crucial for investigate the dynamics of colloidal stability. Meticulous experimentations enable exploring the influence of black carbon nano-powder size and concentration on colloidal dispersion stability. The findings highlight the impact of the black carbon concentration on its migration and emphasize the anionic surfactant’s effect on increasing stability by enhancing the repulsive forces between particles. These conclusions are corroborated with rheological plus zeta potential measurements to provide insights into determining colloidal dispersion stability and migration through optical resonant analysis.