Size fractionation in a phase-separated colloidal fluid

Phase separation of a polydisperse colloidal dispersion implies size fractionation. An application of this effect is given by size-selective purification procedures associated with the colloidal synthesis of so-called monodisperse nanoparticles. We used electron microscopy to determine detailed particle size distributions of coexisting colloidal fluid phases containing highly polydisperse iron oxide nanoparticles with a log-normal distribution (sigma = 0.54 for the total system). Analysis of N approximate to 10000 particles per phase yields the first five statistical moments of the distributions. Within experimental error, the interdependence of the statistical moments is in quantitative agreement with the "universal law of fractionation" proposed by Evans, Fairhurst, and Poon [Phys. Rev. Lett. 1998, 81, 13261, even though the theory was derived in the limit of slight polydispersity.