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Using a theoretical model we show that ideal ring polymers are stronger depletants than ideal linear polymers of equal radii of gyration, but not of equal hydrodynamic radii. The difference in the depletion-induced force profile is largely…
The emergence of nanoscience has increased the importance of experiments able to probe the very local structure of materials, especially for disordered and heterogeneous systems. This is technologically important; for example, the nanoscale…
Recent experiments of thin films flowing down a vertical fiber with varying nozzle diameters present a wealth of new dynamics that illustrate the need for more advanced theory. We present a detailed analysis using a full lubrication model…
An infinite hierarchy of layering transitions exists for model polymers in solution under poor solvent or low temperatures and near an attractive surface. A flat histogram stochastic growth algorithm known as FlatPERM has been used on a…
The dynamics of a membrane is a coupled system comprising a moving elastic surface and an incompressible membrane fluid. We will consider a reduced elastic surface model, which involves the evolution equations of the moving surface, the…
We report molecular dynamics simulation results on the equilibrium properties of polymer thin films adsorbed onto flat and curved substrates. We first systematically determine the contact angle of polymer droplets on flat substrates as a…
The dynamics of polypropylene glycol, both neat and attached to silica nanoparticles, were investigated using elastic neutron backscattering and dielectric spectroscopy. The mean square displacement measured by the former is suppressed by…
We present an analysis of heterogeneous dynamics in molecular dynamics simulations of a thin polymeric film, supported by an absorbing structured surface. Near the glass transition "immobile" domains occur throughout the film, yet the…
Hydrodynamic slip of a liquid at a solid surface represents a fundamental phenomenon in fluid dynamics that governs liquid transport at small scales. For polymeric liquids, de Gennes predicted that the Navier boundary condition together…
When two solids are squeezed together they will in general not make atomic contact everywhere within the nominal (or apparent) contact area. This fact has huge practical implications and must be considered in many technological…
In this letter we propose a model that demonstrates the effect of free surface on the lattice resistance experienced by a moving dislocation in nanodimensional systems. This effect manifests in an enhanced velocity of dislocation due to the…
The glass transition temperature and its connection to statistical properties of confined and free-standing polymer films of varying thickness containing unentangled to highly entangled bead-spring chains are studied by molecular dynamics…
We report a decreased surface wettability when polymer films on a glass substrate are treated by ultra-fast laser pulses in a back-illumination geometry. We propose that back-illumination through the substrate confines chemical changes…
We examine the structural relaxation of glassy materials at finite temperatures, considering the effect of activated rearrangements and long-range elastic interactions. Our three-dimensional mesoscopic relaxation model shows how the…
The origin of the dramatic slowdown of dynamics near the glass transition temperature (Tg) remains a long-standing fundamental and unresolved issue in soft condensed matter. While single-molecule (SM) experiments using fluorescent probes…
Surface creasing in swelling polymer gels is commonly attributed to compressive strain or interlayer mismatch, yet its general control remains unclear. Here we show that solvent polymerization degree $N_{\rm s}$ provides an independent…
Motivated by recent experimental observations, we consider a steady-state Prandtl-Blasius boundary layer flow with polymers above a slightly heated horizontal plate and study how the heat transport might be affected by the polymers. We…
In this work we present the general phase behavior of short tubelike flexible polymers. The geometric thickness constraint is implemented through the concept of the global radius of curvature. We use sophisticated Monte Carlo sampling…
We consider a laminar Blasius boundary-layer flow above a slightly heated horizontal plate and study the effect of polymer additives on the heat transport. We show that the action of the polymers can be understood as a space-dependent…
State-of-the-art techniques for simulating deeply supercooled liquids require a high degree of size polydispersity to be effective. While these techniques have enabled great insight into the microscopic dynamics near the glass transition,…