Related papers: Polymer brushes with reversibly tunable grafting d…
Using typical experimental techniques it is difficult to separate the effects of carrier density and disorder on the superconducting transition in two dimensions. Using a simple fabrication procedure based on metal layer dewetting, we have…
We measure the response of open-cell polyurethane foams filled with a dense suspension of fumed silica particles in polyethylene glycol at compression speeds spanning several orders of magnitude. The gradual compressive stress increase of…
Polymer brushes are attractive as surface coatings for a wide range of applications, from fundamental research to everyday life, and also play important roles in biological systems. How colloids (e.g., functional nanoparticles, proteins,…
The rheology of molecular brushes remains challenging to control due to the multiple length scales and relaxation processes involved and the lack of direct observation of molecular conformation during flow. We use molecular dynamics…
We study the adsorption of semiflexible polymers such as polyelectrolytes or DNA on planar and curved substrates, e.g., spheres or washboard substrates via short-range potentials using extensive Monte-Carlo simulations, scaling arguments,…
The crazing behavior of polymer nanocomposites formed by blending polymer grafted nanoparticles with an entangled polymer melt is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. We focus on the three key differences in the crazing behavior of a…
The mechanical integrity of composite materials depends primarily on the interface strength and the defect density of the reinforcement which is the provider of enhanced strength and stiffness. In the case of graphene/ polymer…
Active processes in living systems generate nonequilibrium forces that deform embedded passive macromolecules. To understand how such dynamics influence polymer conformation, we study a flexible passive chain in an active nematic fluid.…
The non-equilibrium structural and dynamical properties of a flexible polymer tethered to a reflecting wall and subject to oscillatory linear flow are studied by numerical simulations. Polymer is confined in two dimensions and is modeled as…
We probe the temperature dependence of friction at the interface between a glassy poly(methylmethacrylate) lens and a flat substrate coated with a methyl-terminated self-assembled monolayer. The monolayer exhibits density defects which act…
Flow in soft materials encompasses a wide range of viscous, plastic and elastic phenomena which provide challenges to modelling at the microscopic level. To create a controlled flow, we perform falling ball viscometry tests on packings of…
We calculate statistical properties of amorphous polymer chains between crystalline lamellae by self-consistent field model simulations. In our model, an amorphous subchain is modelled as a polymer chain of which ends are grafted onto the…
In order to realise the potential of graphene nanocomposites it is vital to control the degree of dispersion and achieve a strong graphene polymer interface. Herein, we developed a facile grafting to functionalisation approach for graphene…
Nonmagnetic particles in a carrier ferrofluid acquire an effective dipolar moment when placed in an external magnetic field. This fact leads them to form chains that will roughen due to Brownian motion when the magnetic field is decreased.…
As an example for the interplay of structure, dynamics, and phase behavior of macromolecular systems, this article focuses on the problem of bottle-brush polymers with either rigid or flexible backbones. On a polymer with chain length…
Using Brownian Dynamics, we study the dynamical behavior of a polymer grafted onto an adhesive surface close to the mechanically induced adsorption-stretching transition. Even though the transition is first order, (in the infinite chain…
Dry granular materials such as sand, gravel, pills, or agricultural grains, can become rigid when compressed or sheared. At low density, one can distort the shape of a container of granular material without encountering any resistance.…
Assuming Gaussian chain statistics along the chain contour, we generate by means of a proper fractal generator hyperbranched polymer trees which are marginally compact. Static and dynamical properties, such as the radial intrachain pair…
The shear rate dependence of the slip length in thin polymer films confined between atomically flat surfaces is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The polymer melt is described by the bead-spring model of linear flexible…
We study bottlebrush macromolecules in a good solvent by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), static light scattering (SLS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). These polymers consist of a linear backbone to which long side chains are…