Dynamic-kinetic crossovers in colloidal and multiphase systems induced by nanoscale interfacial features

Abstract

The evolution of colloidal and multiphase systems can transition from dynamic regimes, governed by classical transport equations with well-defined damping coefficients, to anomalously slow relaxation described by rate equations when the system is critically close to equilibrium. This regime crossover, notable for its striking consequences, is observed experimentally across diverse multiphase systems relevant to numerous technological applications, including micro/nanoscale particle adhesion at interfaces and liquid imbibition under micro/nanoscale confinement, and it is attributed to large energy barriers induced by localized nanoscale features of physical or chemical origin at liquid–solid interfaces. This article reviews a unified framework to predict and control the crossover from dynamic to kinetic regimes, highlighting that the ratio of the nanoscale surface area of localized interfacial features or “defects” to the microscale system-level dimensions offers an underexplored means for engineering transport properties across multiphase systems. Potential strategies are examined to exploit the dynamic-kinetic duality as a means for programmable transport control across diverse colloidal and multiphase systems.