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We recast the problem of hydrogel swelling under physical constraints as an energy optimization problem. We apply this approach to compute equilibrium shapes of hydrogel spheres confined within a jammed matrix of rigid beads, and interpret…
By reinforcing the interaction energy of the liquid with respect to the surface using total wetting boundary conditions, the response of liquids to mechanical shear stress is stronger and exhibits at sub-millimeter scale elastic properties.…
We report a theoretical study of ion size effect on various properties in a soft nanochannel with pH-dependent charge density. We develop a free energy based mean-field theory taking into account ion size as well as pH-dependence of charged…
We study the melting behavior of charged colloidal crystals, using a simulation technique that combines a continuous mean-field Poisson-Boltzmann description for the microscopic electrolyte ions with a Brownian-dynamics simulation for the…
Through molecular dynamics simulations considering thermal vibration of surface atoms, ionic behaviors in concentrated NaCl solutions confined between discretely charged silicon surfaces have been investigated. The electric double layer…
Biological hydrogels have been increasingly sought after as e.g. wound dressings or scaffolds for regenerative medicine, due to their inherent biofunctionality in biological environments. Especially in moist wound healing, the ideal…
In order to detect the effect of the surface charge discreteness on the properties at the solid-liquid interface, molecular dynamics simulation model taking consideration of the vibration of wall atoms was used to investigate the ion and…
We present computer simulations of a realistic model of microgels. Unlike the regular network frameworks usually assumed in the simulation literature, we model and simulate a realistic and efficient synthesis route, mimicking cross-linking…
Thermoresponsive microgels find widespread use as colloidal model systems, because their temperature-dependent size allows facile tuning of their volume fraction "in situ". However, an interaction potential unifying their behavior across…
Thermo-osmosis refers to fluid migration due to temperature gradient. The mechanistic understanding of thermo-osmosis in charged nano-porous media is still incomplete, while it is important for several environmental and energy applications,…
The utility of non functionalized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) microgels in physiological and environmental applications is strictly dependent on their reversible thermoresponsiveness and stability in saline media. Despite their…
We study the self-assembly of colloidal microgel particles at a quasi-two-dimensional air-water interface of a drying droplet. Using bright-field microscopy, we demonstrate that increasing particle elasticity drives interfacial organization…
A very simple model for cell swelling by osmosis is introduced, resulting in a parabolic free boundary problem. In case of radially symmetric initial conditions, it is shown that the model can be viewed as a gradient flow involving entropy,…
Finding new ways to tune the behavior of thermoresponsive microgels in bulk and confined at 2D liquid interfaces is key to achieve a deeper understanding and control of these smart materials. We studied the interaction of positively charged…
Thermo-responsive hydrogels are smart materials that rapidly switch between hydrophilic (swollen) and hydrophobic (shrunken) states when heated past a threshold temperature, resulting in order-of-magnitude changes in gel volume. Modelling…
Mesoporous systems are ubiquitous in membrane science and applications due to their high internal surface area and tunable pore size. A new synthesis pathway of hydrolytic ionosilica films with mesopores formed by ionic liquid (IL)…
In the presence of a non-adsorbing polymer, monodisperse rod-like colloids assemble into one-rod-length thick liquid-like monolayers, called colloidal membranes. The density of the rods within a colloidal membrane is determined by a balance…
Most organic and inorganic surfaces (e.g., glass, nucleic acids or lipid membranes) become charged in aqueous solutions. The resulting ionic distribution induces effective interactions between the charged surfaces. Stacks of like-charged…
Understanding the response of the surface of metallic solids to external electric field sources is crucial to characterize electrode-electrolyte interfaces. Continuum electrostatics offer a simple description of the induced charge density…
We revisit the popular notion of effective or renormalized charge, which is a concept of central importance in the field of highly charged colloidal or polyelectrolyte solutions. Working at the level of a linear Debye-H\"uckel like theory…