Deposition of colloid particles at heterogeneous and patterned surfaces

Theoretical and experimental results pertinent to irreversible adsorption (deposition) of particles at heterogeneous and patterned surfaces were reviewed. Three main deposition regimes are distinguished: (i) the quasi continuous surface regime, (ii) the random site surface (RSS) regime and (iii) the patterned surface regime. Theoretical results obtained for the RSS and the patterned surface regime were presented, in particular the topology of particle monolayers, the jamming (maximum) coverage, the averaged number of particles adsorbed and particle distribution density over various surface patterns. Special attention was focused on rectangular surface features (stripes). These results were obtained using the random sequential adsorption (RSA) approach, whose range of validity is assessed using the limiting analytical solutions. These theoretical predictions were used for interpretation of experimental results obtained mostly for monodisperse latex particles adsorbing on random site surfaces created by controlled colloid particle or polyelectrolyte adsorption. The structure of monolayers was analyzed adsorption probability as a function of site coverage and the jamming coverage limit for various particle to site size ratio. Finally, recent results were discussed, obtained for surface features of regular shape like circles and rectangles. It was concluded that these experimental data confirmed the validity of the RSA model for describing particle deposition at heterogeneous and patterned surfaces. It was also concluded that theoretical and experimental results obtained for model colloid systems can be effectively used as useful reference states for analyzing protein and macromolecule adsorption at heterogeneous surfaces.