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Calculate the electrical double layer thickness of a silica particle with a radius of 50 nm, assuming the particle is in water at room temperature and has a surface charge density of -0.05 C/m².

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To calculate the electrical double layer thickness  also known as the Debye length  of a silica particle, we need to consider the Debye-Hückel theory. The Debye length    can be calculated using the following formula: =  rRT / 2FI ^1/2 where: = vacuum permittivity  8.854 x 10 F/m r = relative permittivity of water  approximately 78.5 at room temperature R = gas constant  8.314 J/molK T = temperature in Kelvin  assume room temperature, 298 K F = Faraday's constant  96485 C/mol I = ionic strength of the solution  in mol/m To find the ionic strength  I , we need to know the concentration of ions in the solution. Since we are given the surface charge density    of the silica particle, we can estimate the ionic strength using the Gouy-Chapman theory. The Gouy-Chapman equation is: = 2 *  z * e * N * C  * sinh e *  / 2kT where: = surface charge density  -0.05 C/m z = valence of counterions  assume monovalent counterions, z = 1 e = elementary charge  1.602 x 10 C N = Avogadro's number  6.022 x 10 mol C = concentration of counterions  in mol/m  = surface potential  in V k = Boltzmann's constant  1.381 x 10 J/K We can rearrange the Gouy-Chapman equation to solve for the concentration of counterions  C :C =  /  2 * z * e * N * sinh e *  / 2kT  Assuming that the surface potential    is large enough that sinh e *  / 2kT   e *  / 2kT, we can simplify the equation to:C =  /  2 * z * e * N *  e *  / 2kT  Now, we can plug in the given values and constants:C =  -0.05 C/m  /  2 * 1 *  1.602 x 10 C  *  6.022 x 10 mol  *   1.602 x 10 C  *  /  2 *  1.381 x 10 J/K  * 298 K   Since we don't have the surface potential   , we cannot find the exact concentration of counterions  C . However, we can still express the Debye length    in terms of : =  rRT / 2FI ^1/2  =  rRT / 2F * 2C ^1/2 Plugging in the values and constants: =   8.854 x 10 F/m * 78.5 * 8.314 J/molK * 298 K  /  2 *  96485 C/mol  * 2 *  -0.05 C/m  /  2 * 1 *  1.602 x 10 C  *  6.022 x 10 mol  *   1.602 x 10 C  *  /  2 *  1.381 x 10 J/K  * 298 K     ^1/2 This equation gives the electrical double layer thickness  Debye length  of the silica particle in terms of the surface potential   . To find the exact value of the Debye length, we would need the surface potential or the concentration of counterions in the solution.

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