Small variations in particle-level interactions lead to large structural heterogeneities in colloidal gels

Colloidal gels typically exhibit mechanical properties akin to a viscoelastic solid, influenced by their underlying particulate network. Hence, the structural and morphological characteristics of the colloidal network have a significant effect on the rigidity of the gel. In this study, we show how seemingly small variations in the particle-level interactions throughout the system result in larger scale structural heterogeneities. While the microscale particle level descriptors of the colloidal network remain largely unaffected by heterogeneous interactions, larger scale properties of a colloidal gel change appreciably. The overall cluster-level mesostructure of a colloidal gel is found to be sensitive to the small variations in the interaction potential at the particle level. Small spatial variations in the interaction potential lead to enhanced structural heterogeneities at the mesoscale in the colloidal gel network.