Related papers: Structure and Strength at Immiscible Polymer Inter…
Frictional interfaces are abundant in natural and manmade systems and their dynamics still pose challenges of fundamental and technological importance. A recent extensive compilation of multiple-source experimental data has revealed that…
Soft solids and their surface deformations control the response of many natural and artificial systems. Yet, their underlying properties are vigorously debated, particularly for polymer networks. While molecular-scale theories predict no…
We investigated the effect of surfactants on an interface between two kinds of liquid by molecular dynamics simulation. We adopted the simple bead-spring model with two atoms as the surfactants. We controlled the interfacial tension of the…
We propose a closed form formulation for the impedance of the Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) plasmonic transmission lines by solving the Maxwell's equations. We provide approximations for thin and thick insulator layers sandwiched between…
Microgels are soft colloidal particles constituted by cross-linked polymer networks with a high potential for applications. In particular, after adsorption at a fluid interface, interfacial tension provides two-dimensional (2D) confinement…
We consider a stiff polymer chain in poor solvent and apply a force at one end of the chain. We find that by varying the stiffness parameter, polymer undergoes a transition from the globule state to the folded like state. The conformation…
Intermolecular forces are known to precipitate adhesion events between solid bodies. Inspired by a macro-scale experiment showing the hysteretic adhesion of a piece of flexible tape over a plastic substrate, we develop here a model of…
Thin liquid films with floating active protein machines are considered. Cyclic mechanical motions within the machines, representing microscopic swimmers, lead to molecular propulsion forces applied to the air-liquid interface. We show that,…
Within mean-field theory we determine the universal scaling function for the effective force acting on a single colloid located near the interface between two coexisting liquid phases of a binary liquid mixture close to its critical…
We propose a novel model for the shear failure of a glued interface between two solid blocks. We model the interface as an array of elastic beams which experience stretching and bending under shear load and break if the two deformation…
We report on the frictional properties of thin ($\approx \mu m$) poly(dimethylacrylamide) hydrogel films within contacts with spherical silica probes. In order to focus on the contribution to friction of interfacial dissipation, a dedicated…
The formation, deformation, and break-up of liquid interfaces are ubiquitous phenomena in nature. In the present article we discuss the deformation of a liquid interface produced by optical radiation forces. Usually, the bending of such an…
Soft nanoparticles hold promise as smart emulsifiers due to their high degree of deformability, permeability and stimuli responsive properties. By means of large-scale simulations we investigate the structural properties of nanogels at…
Polymers are widely used in industry and in our daily life because of their diverse functionality, light weight, low cost and excellent chemical stability. However, on some applications such as heat exchangers and electronic packaging, the…
Filler-polymer interactions are one of the keys to understanding the physical properties of polymer composites. These interactions give rise to an interface with specific properties that may have a nontrivial effect on the macroscopic…
We analyze the interaction of two conducting, charged polymer chains in solution using a minimal model for their electronic degrees of freedom. We show that a crossing of the two chains in which the polymers pass within Angstroms of each…
Understanding the mechanism of interfacial thermal transport is crucial for thermal management of electronics. Recent experiments have shown the strong impact of interfacial roughness on inelastic phonon scattering and interfacial thermal…
The structural characterization of microgels at interfaces is fundamental to understand both their 2D phase behavior and their role as stabilizers that enable emulsions to be broken on demand. However, this characterization is usually…
Topologically interlocked material systems are two-dimensional assemblies of unit elements from which no element can be removed from the assembly without disassembly of the entire system. Consequently, such tile assemblies are able to carry…
We investigate the role of architected thin films in the interfacial failure properties of bi-layer composites. Our results show that, while graded structures can be used to prescribe failure at the interface, they do not offer significant…