Related papers: Swelling of responsive-microgels: experiments vers…
The phase behavior of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) nanoparticles dispersed in aqueous medium is investigated as a function of temperature using static and dynamic light scattering techniques. The diameter, d of the particles, as determined…
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…
We study the swelling of a flexible linear chain composed of active particles by analytical theory and computer simulation. Three different situations are considered: a free chain, a chain confined to an external harmonic trap, and a chain…
We study pressurised self-avoiding ring polymers in two dimensions using Monte Carlo simulations, scaling arguments and Flory-type theories, through models which generalise the model of Leibler, Singh and Fisher [Phys. Rev. Lett. Vol. 59,…
We consider the problem of an ideal polymer confined in a droplet. When the droplet radius is smaller than the (unconfined) polymer radius of gyration, the polymer entropy will depend on the droplet shape. We compute the resulting surface…
Confined in two dimensional planes, polymer chains comprising dense monolayer solution are segregated from each other due to topological interaction. Although the segregation is inherent in two dimensions (2D), the solution may display…
We investigate the transient, fluid structure interaction (FSI) of a non-Newtonian fluid peeling two linearly elastic sheets at low Reynolds numbers. Two different non-Newtonian fluids are considered; a simplified sPTT model, and an…
Microfluidic devices are increasingly used in biological and chemical experiments due to their cost-effectiveness for rheological estimation in fluids. However, these devices often face challenges in terms of accuracy, size, and cost. This…
Hydrogen bond patterns, proton ordering, and phase transitions of monolayer ice in two-dimensional hydrophobic confinement are fundamentally different from those found for bulk ice. To investigate the behavior of quasi-2D ice, we perform…
Amphiphilic lipid bilayers modify the friction properties of the surfaces on top of which they are deposited. In particular, the measured sliding friction coefficient is significantly reduced compared with the native surface. We investigate…
Ionic microgels are soft colloidal particles, composed of crosslinked polymer networks, that ionize and swell when dispersed in a good solvent. Swelling of these permeable, compressible particles involves a balance of electrostatic,…
Hydrogels are biphasic, swollen polymer networks where elastic deformation is coupled to nanoscale fluid flow. As a consequence, hydrogels can withstand large strains and exhibit nonlinear, hyperelastic properties. For low-modulus hydrogel…
We probe, using the Surface Forces Apparatus, the thermal response of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) brushes of various grafting densities, grown from plasma-activated mica by means of surface-initiated polymerization. We thus show…
The solvent quality determines the collapsed or the expanded state of a polymer. For example, a polymer dissolved in a poor solvent collapses, whereas in a good solvent it opens up. While this standard understanding is generally valid,…
The swelling equilibrium of Olympic gels, which are composed of entangled cyclic polymers, is studied by Monte Carlo Simulations. In contrast to chemically crosslinked polymer networks, we observe that Olympic gels made of chains with a…
The results obtained from molecular dynamics simulations of the friction at an interface between polymer melts and weakly attractive crystalline surfaces are reported. We consider a coarse-grained bead-spring model of linear chains with…
Osmotic pressure is the driving force for the swelling of hydrogels. The hydrogel osmotic pressure can be decomposed into two parts: the mixing part due to polymer-solvent interaction and the elastic part due to polymer chain stretching.…
Healthy articular cartilage has excellent lubricating properties, with friction coefficients reaching extremely low values at physiological pressures. Such high-performing lubricating layer in joints is attributed to the surface hydration…
Treating realistically the ambient water is one of the main difficulties in applying Monte Carlo methods to protein folding. The solvent-accessible area method, a popular method for treating water implicitly, is investigated by means of…
We report molecular dynamics simulations of a hydrophobic polymer-chain in aqueous solution between $260 {K}$ and $420 {K}$ at pressures of $1 {bar}$, $3000 {bar}$, and $4500 {bar}$. The simulations reveal a hydrophobically collapsed state…