ANALYSIS OF SOME DIELECTRIC-PROPERTIES OF COLLOIDAL SUSPENSIONS

Some aspects are analyzed of the theory of the conductivity of dilute colloidal suspensions in alternating electric fields, proposed by DeLacey and White (J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 2 77, 2007 (1981)), and, by using the Kramers-Krönig relations, the contributions to the total conductivity increment predicted by the model are calculated separately. Our results indicate that there is no frequency dependence of that part of the conductivity not associated to dielectric loss. Cole-Cole plots of the complex dielectric increment of the suspensions suggest that, if a Debyelike behavior is admitted (no interaction between dipoles), the suspensions must have a distribution of relaxation times, even though they are formed by monodisperse particles. The same conclusion seems to be suggested by the computations carried out for the dielectric response function of the suspensions studied. © 1993 Academic Press, Inc.