Related papers: Effective Interactions in Soft Materials
Molecular dynamics simulations of interacting soft disks confined in a heterogeneous quenched matrix of soft obstacles show dynamics which is fundamentally different from that of hard disks. The interactions between the disks can enhance…
Particle surface chemistry and internal softness are two fundamental parameters in governing the mechanical properties of dense colloidal suspensions, dictating structure and flow, therefore of interest from materials fabrication to…
In this brief contribution to the Proceedings of the NATO-ASI on ``Electrostatic Effects in Soft Matter and Biophysics'', which took place in Les Houches from Oct. 1-13, 2000, we summarize in short aspects of the simulations methods to…
The microscopic structure of several amorphous substances often reveals complex patterns such as medium- or long-range order, spatial heterogeneity, and even local polycrystallinity. To capture all these features, models usually incorporate…
The complexity of condensed matter arises from emergent behaviors that cannot be understood by analyzing individual constituents in isolation. While traditional condensed-matter approaches-developed primarily for ideal crystalline…
Manipulating the way in which colloidal particles self-organise is a central challenge in the design of functional soft materials. Meeting this challenge requires the use of building blocks that interact with one another in a highly…
The equilibrium phase behavior of a binary mixture of charged colloids and neutral, non-adsorbing polymers is studied within free-volume theory. A model mixture of charged hard-sphere macroions and ideal, coarse-grained, effective-sphere…
The concept of fluctuation-induced effective interactions is extended to systems driven out of equilibrium. We compute the forces experienced by macroscopic objects immersed in a soft material driven by external shaking sources. We show…
In equilibrium, the physical properties of matter are set by the interactions between the constituents. In contrast, the energy input of the individual components controls the behavior of synthetic or living active matter. Great progress…
Accurate interaction potentials between microscopic components such as colloidal particles or cells are crucial to understanding a range of processes, including colloidal crystallization, bacterial colony formation, and cancer metastasis.…
Microgels are soft colloids that, in virtue of their polymeric nature, can react to external stimuli such as temperature or pH by changing their size. The resulting swelling/deswelling transition can be exploited in fundamental research as…
Traditional robots have rigid links and structures that limit their ability to interact with the dynamics of their immediate environment. For example, conventional robot manipulators with rigid links can only manipulate objects using…
A brief review is presented of the scaling of complex fluids, polymers and polyelectrolytes in solution and in confined geometry, in thermodynamical, structural and rheology properties using equilibrium and nonequilibrium dissipative…
Unlike molecular crystals, soft self-assembled fibres, micelles, vesicles, etc., exhibit a certain order in the arrangement of their constitutive monomers, but also high structural dynamicity and variability. Defects and disordered local…
Colloidal particles dispersed in liquid crystals can form new materials with tunable elastic and electro-optic properties. In a periodic `blue phase' host, particles should template into colloidal crystals with potential uses in photonics,…
A heterogeneous and dilute suspension of catalytically active colloids is studied as a non-equilibrium analogue of ionic systems, which has the remarkable feature of action-reaction symmetry breaking. Symmetrically coated colloids are found…
We describe opportunities and challenges with wireless robotic materials. Robotic materials are multi-functional composites that tightly integrate sensing, actuation, computation and communication to create smart composites that can sense…
The ordering of particles in the drying process of a colloidal suspension is crucial in determining the properties of the resulting film. For example, microscopic inhomogeneities can lead to the formation of cracks and defects that can…
We report a numerical investigation of two colloids immersed in a critical solvent, with the aim of quantifying the effective colloid-colloid interaction potential. By turning on an attraction between the colloid and the solvent particles…
We use Photon Correlation Imaging, a recently introduced space-resolved dynamic light scattering method, to investigate the spatial correlation of the dynamics of a variety of jammed and glassy soft materials. Strikingly, we find that in…