Related papers: Engineering solid-like structures via an arrested …
Concentrated aqueous solutions of the protein lysozyme undergo a liquid solid transition upon a temperature quench into the unstable spinodal region below a characteristic arrest temperature of Tf=15C. We use video microscopy and…
We investigate the competition between spinodal decomposition and dynamical arrest using aqueous solutions of the globular protein lysozyme as a model system for colloids with short-range attractions. We show that quenches below a…
Colloid-polymer mixtures can undergo spinodal decomposition into colloid-rich and colloid-poor regions. Gelation results when interconnected colloid-rich regions solidify. We show that this occurs when these regions undergo a glass…
Spin coating is an out-of-equilibrium technique for producing polymer films and colloidal crystals quickly and reproducibly. In this review, we present an overview of theoretical and experimental studies of the spin coating of colloidal…
Using computer simulations, we study the dynamic arrest in a schematic model of colloid-polymer mixtures combining short-ranged attractions with long-ranged repulsions. The arrested gel is a dilute rigid network of colloidal particles…
Using controlled spinodal decomposition, we have created a fluid-bicontinuous structure stabilized by colloidal particles. We present confocal microscopy studies of these structures and their variation with kinetic pathway. Our studies…
The interplay of phase separation and dynamical arrest can lead to the formation of gels and glasses, which is relevant for such diverse fields as hard and soft condensed matter physics, materials science, food engineering and…
Interactions between actin, an anionic polyelectrolyte, and lysozyme, a cationic globular protein, have been examined using a combination of synchrotron small-angle x-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations. Lysozyme initially…
The physical gelation of colloids produces elastic structures that are commonly used to stabilize complex fluids in multiple industries. However, the ability to control the level of elastic modulus of these materials is limited by the…
The liquid-liquid phase separation of a binary solvent can be arrested by colloidal particles trapped at the interface [K. Stratford et al., Science 309, 5744 (2005)]. We show experimentally that the colloidal network so formed can remain…
A quantitative understanding of aggregation mechanisms leading to the formation of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) and protein composites in aqueous media is of paramount interest for colloid chemistry. In particular, the interactions between…
Recent theories predict that when a supercooled liquid approaches the glass transition, particle clusters with a special "amorphous order" nucleate within the liquid, which lead to static correlations dictating the dramatic slowdown of…
Understanding the correlation between structure and rheology in colloidal suspensions is important as these suspensions are crucial in industrial applications. Moreover, colloids exhibit a wide range of structures under confinement that…
Recent experiments in some polymer melts quenched below the melting temperature have reported spinodal kinetics in small-angle X ray scattering before the emergence of crystalline structure. To explain these observations we propose that the…
The rheology of dense amorphous materials under large shear strain is not fully understood, partly due to the difficulty of directly viewing the microscopic details of such materials. We use a colloidal suspension to simulate amorphous…
Colloids that interact via a short-range attraction serve as the primary building blocks for a broad range of self-assembled materials. However, one of the well-known drawbacks to this strategy is that these building blocks rapidly and…
Understanding the out-of-equilibrium properties of noisy microscale systems and the extent to which they can be modulated externally, is a crucial scientific and technological challenge. It holds the promise to unlock disruptive new…
Recent demonstrations of extraordinary stabilization of proteins in mobile protic [1] and aprotic [2] ionic liquid solutions at ambient temperatures have raised hopes of new biopreservation and drug transportation technologies. Here we…
Extreme deformation of soft matter is central to our understanding of the effects of shock, fracture, and phase change in a variety of systems. Yet, despite, the increasing interest in this area, far-from-equilibrium behaviours of soft…
Materials featuring anomalous suppression of density fluctuations over large length scales are emerging systems known as disordered hyperuniform. The underlying hidden order renders them appealing for several applications, such as light…