DLVO Theory - History

History

In 1923, Debye and Hückel reported the first successful theory for the distribution of charges in ionic solutions. The framework of linearized Debye-Hückel theory subsequently was applied to colloidal dispersions by Levine and Dube who found that charged colloidal particles should experience a strong medium-range repulsion and a weaker long-range attraction. This theory did not explain the observed instability of colloidal dispersions against irreversible aggregation in solutions of high ionic strength. In 1941, Derjaguin and Landau introduced a theory for the stability of colloidal dispersions that invoked a fundamental instability driven by strong but short-ranged van der Waals attractions countered by the stabilizing influence of electrostatic repulsions. Seven years later, Verwey and Overbeek independently arrived at the same result. This so-called DLVO theory resolved the failure of the Levine-Dube theory to account for the dependence of colloidal dispersions' stability on the ionic strength of the electrolyte.