Application of Electrostatic Models to the Colloidal Behavior of Plate-shaped Particles

Abstract
The method of images in dielectrics is applied to a model consisting of two infinite dielectric slabs and a point charge. When specific effects of the ions such as hydration energies are taken into account, the model describes the electrical aspects of the swelling of the clay minerals satisfactorily. In addition, a detailed theory of the mechanism of swelling is proposed and is shown to be favored by preliminary experimental studies of vermiculite.