Related papers: Sitting at the edge: How biomolecules use hydropho…
The aversion of hydrophobic solutes for water drives diverse interactions and assemblies across materials science, biology and beyond. % Here, we review the theoretical, computational and experimental developments which underpin a…
We use molecular dynamics simulations of the SPC-E model of liquid water to derive probability distributions for water density fluctuations in probe volumes of different shapes and sizes, both in the bulk as well as near hydrophobic and…
We investigate the origin of the density depletion and enhanced density fluctuations that occur in water in the vicinity of an extended hydrophobic solute. We argue that both phenomena are remnants of the critical drying surface phase…
Interfaces are a most common motif in complex systems. To understand how the presence of interfaces affect hydrophobic phenomena, we use molecular simulations and theory to study hydration of solutes at interfaces. The solutes range in size…
The interactions of a hydrophilic surface with water can significantly influence the characteristics of the liquid water interface. In this manuscript, we explore this influence by studying the molecular structure of liquid water at a…
The physics of air-water interfaces plays a central role in modern theories of the hydrophobic effect. Implementing these theories, however, has been hampered by the difficulty of addressing fluctuations in the shape of such soft…
Liquid water can become metastable with respect to its vapor in hydrophobic confinement. The resulting dewetting transitions are often impeded by large kinetic barriers. According to macroscopic theory, such barriers arise from the free…
An understanding of density fluctuations in bulk water has made significant contributions to our understanding of the hydration and interactions of idealized, purely repulsive hydrophobic solutes. To similarly inform the hydration of…
The evaporation of a tiny amount of water on the solid surface with different wettability has been studied by molecular dynamics simulations. We found that, as the surface changed from hydrophobicity to hydrophility, the evaporation speed…
The structure of liquid water in the proximity of an interface can deviate significantly from that of bulk water, with surface-induced structural perturbations typically converging to bulk values at about ~1 nm from the interface. While…
Rough or textured hydrophobic surfaces are dubbed superhydrophobic due to their numerous desirable properties, such as water repellency and interfacial slip. Superhydrophobicity stems from an aversion for water to wet the surface texture,…
Clarifying the factors that control the contact angle of a liquid on a solid substrate is a long-standing scientific problem pertinent across physics, chemistry and materials science. Progress has been hampered by the lack of a…
The free energetics of water density fluctuations near a surface, and the rare low-density fluctuations in particular, serve as reliable indicators of surface hydrophobicity; the easier it is to displace the interfacial waters, the more…
Hydrophobic interactions provide driving forces for protein folding, membrane formation, and oil-water separation. Motivated by information theory, the poorly understood nonpolar solute interactions in water are investigated. A simple…
The behavior of proteins near interfaces is relevant for biological and medical purposes. Previous results in bulk show that, when the protein concentration increases, the proteins unfold and, at higher concentrations, aggregate. Here, we…
The interactions of a protein, its phase behavior, and ultimately, its ability to function, are all influenced by the interactions between the protein and its hydration waters. Here we study proteins with a variety of sizes, shapes,…
Simulations of water near extended hydrophobic spherical solutes have revealed the presence of a region of depleted density and accompanying enhanced density fluctuations.The physical origin of both phenomena has remained somewhat obscure.…
Hydrophobic interactions are central to biological self-assembly and soft matter organization, yet their microscopic origins remain debated. A key hallmark is the strengthening of attraction between hydrophobic solutes with increasing…
The motion of three-phase contact lines is one of the most relevant research topics of micro- and nano-fluidics. According to many hydrodynamic and molecular models, the dynamics of contact lines is assumed overdamped and dominated by…
Adsorption of small amphiphilic molecules occurs in various biological and technological processes, sometimes desired, the other times unwanted (e.g., contamination). Surface-active molecules preferentially bind to interfaces and affect…