Aggregation kinetics of binary systems containing kaolinite and Pseudomonas putida induced by different 1:1 electrolytes: specific ion effects

Background The interactions between colloidal particles in the binary systems or mixture colloids containing clay minerals and bacteria have important influences on formations and stabilities of soil aggregates, transportations of soil water, as well as biological activities of microorganisms. How the interfacial reaction of metal ions affects their interaction therefore becomes an important scientific issue. Methods Dynamic light scattering studies on the aggregation kinetics of mixture colloids containing kaolinite and Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) were conducted in this study. Results Aggregation could be observed between kaolinite and kaolinite, between kaolinite and P. putida when P. putida content was less than 33.3%. Additionally, aggregation rates decreased with increasing P. putida content. The critical coagulation concentrations and activation energies indicated that there were strong specific ion effects on the aggregation of mixture colloids. Most importantly, the activation energy increased sharply with increasing P. putida content, which might result from the lower Hamaker constant of P. putida compared with that of kaolinite. Contributions (1) Strong specific ion effects on mixture colloids aggregation of kaolinite-P. putida were observed; (2) the aggregation behavior of mixture colloids was determined by the average effects of mixture colloids, rather than the specific component. This finding provides an important methodological guide for further studies on the colloidal aggregation behavior of mixture systems with organic and inorganic materials.