| Charge Fluctuations and Counterion Condensation (2002) | |||||||||
Abstract | |||||||||
| We predict a condensation phenomenon in an overall neutral system, consisting of a single charged plate and its oppositely charged counterions. Based on the ``two-fluid'' model, in which the counterions are divided into a ``free'' and a ``condensed'' fraction, we argue that for high surface charge, fluctuations can lead to a phase transition in which a large fraction of counterions is condensed. Furthermore, we show that depending on the valence, the condensation is either a first-order or a smooth transition.. Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, accepted to be published in PRE | |||||||||
Details der Publikation | |||||||||
| |||||||||