Study of the demixing transition in model athermal mixtures of colloids and flexible self-excluding polymers using the thermodynamic perturbation theory of Wertheim

An overview is given of the results of a study of the molecular conditions which give rise to fluid phase separation in binary mixtures of hard colloids and flexible polymers. By using the Wertheim TPT1 theory, it is possible to treat both components at the "microscopic" level of the segments making up the polymer. As well as a description of the colloid-colloid and colloid-polymer interactions, this approach allows for the excluded volume effect between polymers to be taken into consideration.