We show by theory and experiment a general non-DLVO method to stabilize colloids in liquids. In this method colloidal particles that are initially unstable and sediment from the liquid are stabilized by addition of salt to the suspending liquid. Yet, the salt is not expected to adsorb or directly interact with the surface of the colloids. For the method to work the liquid should be a mixture and the salt need to be antagonistic such that each ion is preferentially solvated by a different component of the mixture. The stabilization can be made sensitive or insensitive to small variations in temperature, depending on the salt content, mixture composition, or distance from the mixture's coexistence line.
tsori@bgu.ac.il
