Abstract
We used several complementary experimental and theoretical tools to characterise the charge properties of well-definedmaghemite nanoparticles in solution as a function of the volume fraction. The radius of the nanoparticles is equal to 6 nm.The structural charge was measured from chemical titration and was found high enough to expect some counterions tobe electrostatically attracted to the surface, decreasing the apparent charge of the nanoparticle. Direct-current conductivitymeasurements were interpreted by an analytical transport theory to deduce the value of this apparent charge, denoted here by‘dynamic effective charge’. This dynamic effective charge is found to decrease strongly with the volume fraction. In contrast,the ‘static’ effective charge, defined thanks to the Bjerrum criterion and computed from Monte Carlo simulations turns outto be almost independent of the volume fraction. In the range of Debye screening length and volume fraction investigatedhere, double layers around nanoparticles actually interact with each other. This strong interaction between nanocolloidalmaghemite particles is probably responsible for the experimental dependence of the electrokinetic properties with the volumefraction.