Colloidal particles with short-range attractions form gels when phase separation is arrested by gelation. Explore how volume fraction and interaction strength control gel microstructure.
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Clusters
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Bonds
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Gel Network
Physics: Short-range attractive colloids (Δ < 0.2σ) can undergo phase separation into dense and dilute phases. At high ε/kT, diffusion slows and the system gels before reaching equilibrium — arrested phase separation. The gel is a kinetically trapped, percolating solid network with system-spanning connectivity.