From Attraction to Repulsion to Attraction: Non-Monotonic Temperature Dependence of Polymer-Mediated Interactions in Colloidal Dispersions
In this work, we have synthesized polystyrene particles that carry short end-grafted polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains. We then added dissolved 100 kDa PEG polymers and monitored potential flocculation by confocal microscopy. Qualitative predictions, based on previous theoretical developments in this field (Xie, F.; et al. Soft Matter 2016, 12, 658), suggest a non-monotonic temperature response. Th