Related papers: Dynamic clay microstructures emerge via ion comple…
Applying an electric field to an aqueous colloidal dispersion establishes a complex interplay of forces among the highly mobile simple ions, the more highly charged but less mobile colloidal spheres, and the surrounding water. This…
Hypothesis: A broad range of phenomena, such as emulsification and emulsion stability, foam formation or liquid evaporation, are closely related to the dynamics of adsorbing colloidal particles. Elucidation of the mechanisms implied is key…
The ability to induce regions of high and low ionic concentration adjacent to a permeselective membrane or nanochannel subject to an externally applied electric field (a phenomenon termed concentration-polarization) has been used for a…
The properties of organically modified clay minerals determine essentially the quality of polymer-clay nanocomposites. We investigate alkylammonium-micas with different alkyl chain length by molecular dynamics simulation as homogeneous…
Experiments using the Surface Force Apparatus (SFA) have found anomalously long-ranged interactions between charged surfaces in concentrated salt solutions. Ion clustering have been suggested as a possible origin of this behaviour. In this…
The chemical and electronic properties of surfaces and interfaces are important for many technologically relevant processes, be it in information processing, where interfacial electronic properties are crucial for device performance, or in…
We consider two thin layers of immiscible liquids on a heated solid horizontal substrate. The free liquid-liquid and liquid-gas interfaces of such a two-layer (or bilayer) liquid film may be unstable due to effective molecular interactions…
Desiccation cracking in clayey soils occurs when they lose moisture, leading to an increase in their compressibility and hydraulic conductivity and hence significant reduction of soil strength. The prediction of desiccation cracking in…
Interactions between swimming cells and surfaces are essential to many microbiological processes, from bacterial biofilm formation to human fertilization. However, in spite of their fundamental importance, relatively little is known about…
Molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous NaCl, KCl, NaI, and KI solutions are used to study the effects of salts on the properties of the liquid/vapor interface. The simulations use the models which include both charge transfer and…
Extreme deformation of soft matter is central to our understanding of the effects of shock, fracture, and phase change in a variety of systems. Yet, despite, the increasing interest in this area, far-from-equilibrium behaviours of soft…
When an ensemble of particles interact hydrodynamically, they generically display large-scale transient structures such as swirls in sedimenting particles [1], or colloidal strings in sheared suspensions [2]. Understanding these…
Transport of ions in molecular-scale confined spaces is central to all aspects of life and technology: into a crack, it may break steel within days; through a membrane separator, it determines the efficiency of electrochemical energy…
The mechanical properties of a solid, which relate its deformation to external applied forces, are key factors in enabling or disabling the use of an otherwise optimal material in any application, strongly influencing also its service…
Letting free polymers diffuse from solution into a crosslinked polymer gel is often a crucial processing step in the synthesis of multiphase polymer-based gels, e.g., core-shell microgels. Here we use coarse-grained molecular dynamics…
We investigate the dynamics of a phase-separating binary fluid, containing colloidal dumbbells anchored to the fluid-fluid interface. Extensive Lattice Boltzmann-Immersed Boundary method simulations reveal that the presence of soft…
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the local dynamics of counterion-charged polymer association at charge densities above and below the counterion condensation threshold. Surprisingly, the counterions form weakly-interacting…
Topological spin textures emerging in magnetic materials usually appear in crystalline states. A long-standing dilemma is whether we should understand these emergent crystals as gathering particles or coupling waves, the answer of which…
Computer simulations are used to investigate the response of a charged colloid and its surrounding microion cloud to an external electric field. Both static fields (DC) and alternating fields (AC) are considered. A mesoscopic simulation…
Cellular biology abound with filaments interacting through fluids, from intracellular microtubules, to rotating flagella and beating cilia. While previous work has demonstrated the complexity of capturing nonlocal hydrodynamic interactions…