Abstract
The classical theory of coagulation relies on relating the rate of interparticle collisions to the interaction forces, and thus to the physical and chemical parameters of the dispersion, through kinetic arguments, and is restricted to dilute systems. Here, we present a modern, thermodynamic theory capable of predicting stability diagrams for dense as well as dilute dispersions. Although based on statistical thermodynamics, the method is simple to use and requires only the second virial coefficient of osmotic pressure of the dispersion. All the information necessary for applying the model to arbitrary dispersions is given. The method is illustrated for a model colloidal potential, and it is shown how static light scattering measurements can be used for predicting the stability diagrams when information about the colloidal forces are not known in advance.