Related papers: Rolling and ageing in T-ramp soft adhesion
We have investigated the slow dynamics of ultrasoft particles in crystalline cluster phases, where point particles interact through the generalized exponential potential u(r) = \epsilon \exp[-(r/\sigma)^n], focusing on the cluster fcc phase…
Amorphous materials as diverse as foams, emulsions, colloidal suspensions and granular media can {\em jam} into a rigid, disordered state where they withstand finite shear stresses before yielding. The jamming transition has been studied…
Sensitive and fast force measurements are performed on sheared granular layers undergoing stick-slip motion, along with simultaneous imaging. A full study has been done for spherical particles with a +-20% size distribution. Stick-slip…
In the coarse grained Brownian Dynamics simulation method the many solvent molecules are replaced by random thermal kicks and an effective friction acting on the particles of interest. For Brownian Dynamics the friction has to be so strong…
The formation of smart emulsions or foams whose stability can be controlled on-demand by switching external parameters is of great interest for basic research and applications. An emerging group of smart stabilizers are microgels, which are…
In colloidal systems, Brownian motion emerges from the massive separation of time and length scales associated to characteristic dynamics of the solute and solvent constituents. This separation of scales produces several temporal regimes in…
PNIPAm microgels synthesized via free radical polymerization (FRP) are often considered as neutral colloids in aqueous media, although it is well known, since the pioneering work of Pelton and coworkers [Langmuir 1989, 5, 816-818], that the…
The early planetesimal growth proceeds through a sequence of sticking collisions of dust agglomerates. Very uncertain is still the relative velocity regime in which growth rather than destruction can take place. The outcome of a collision…
A quantitative model of the mobility of functionalized particles at the interface is pivotal to understanding important systems in biology and nanotechnology. In this work, we investigate the emerging dynamics of particles anchored through…
Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the surface adsorption of self-avoiding trails on the triangular lattice with two- and three-body on-site monomer-monomer interactions. In the parameter space of two-body, three-body,…
We investigate by Monte Carlo simulations the zipping and unzipping dynamics of two polymers connected by one end and subject to an attractive interaction between complementary monomers. In zipping, the polymers are quenched from a high…
In this work, we analyse the stick-slip motion of a soft elastomeric block on a smooth, hard surface under the application of shear, which is induced by a puller moving at a steady velocity. The frictional stress is generated by make-break…
Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a synthetic polymer that is widely studied for its thermoresponsive character. However, recent works also reported evidence of a low temperature (protein-like) dynamical transition around 225 K in…
We study the response of an adsorbed monolayer on a disordered substrate under a driving force using Brownian molecular-dynamics simulation. We find that the sharp longitudinal and transverse depinning transitions with hysteresis still…
Our object is to formulate and analyze a physically plausible and mathematically sound model to better understand the phenomenon of clumping in colloid dispersions. Our model is stochastic but rigorously derived from a deterministic setup…
Purely entropic systems such as suspensions of hard rods, platelets and spheres show rich phase behavior. Rods and platelets have successfully been used as models to predict the equilibrium properties of liquid crystals for several decades.…
The surface of a crystal made of roughly spherical molecules exposes, above its bulk rotational phase transition at T= T$_r$, a carpet of freely rotating molecules, possibly functioning as "nanobearings" in sliding friction. We explored by…
Low-energy structures of a hybrid system consisting of a polymer and an attractive nanowire substrate as well as the thermodynamics of the adsorption transition are studied by means of Monte Carlo computer simulations. Depending on…
Stable colloidal dispersions with evenly distributed particles are important for many technological applications. Due to Brownian motion colloidal particles have constant collisions with each other which often lead to their aggregation…
Motile living organisms routinely probe their surroundings to adapt in ever-evolving environments. Although synthetic microswimmers offer surrogates for self-propelled living entities, they often lack the complex feedback mechanisms that…