Related papers: Tunable Nanostructures from Inverse Surfactants
Multi-phase material are frequently applied in a wide variety of products, as they posses a unique set of properties by combining two or more distinct phases at the level of the microstructure. Although the macroscopic stiffness and…
Elastic sheets with macroscopic dimensions are easy to deform by bending and stretching. Yet shaping nanometric sheets by mechanical manipulation is hard. Here we show that nanoparticle self-assembly could be used to this end. We…
We perform off-lattice, canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulations of the self-assembly of long segmented copolymers consisting of alternating, tunably attractive and hydrophobic {\em binder} domains, connected by hydrophilic {\em…
From dumbbells to FCC crystals, we study the self-assembly pathway of amphiphatic, spherical colloidal particles as a function of the size of the hydrophobic region using molecular dynamics simulations. Specifically, we analyze how local…
Many systems in nature and the synthetic world involve ordered arrangements of units on two-dimensional surfaces. We review here the fundamental role payed by both the topology of the underlying surface and its detailed curvature. Topology…
Clean oxide surfaces are generally hydrophilic. Water molecules anchor at undercoordinated surface metal atoms that act as Lewis-acid sites, and they are stabilized by H bonds to undercoordinated surface oxygens. The large unit cell of…
Self-assembly in the laboratory can now yield `information-rich' nanostructures in which each component is of a distinct type and has a defined spatial position. Ensuring the thermodynamic stability of such structures requires…
Topological insulators are a class of band insulators with non-trivial topology, a result of band inversion due to the strong spin-orbit coupling. The transition between topological and normal insulator can be realized by tuning the…
We consider the slow and athermal deformations of amorphous solids and show how the ensuing sequence of discrete plastic rearrangements can be mapped onto a directed network. The network topology reveals a set of highly connected regions…
Adsorption of small amphiphilic molecules occurs in various biological and technological processes, sometimes desired, the other times unwanted (e.g., contamination). Surface-active molecules preferentially bind to interfaces and affect…
Capillarity-driven self-assembly at fluidic interfaces offers a scalable route to large, reconfigurable materials. Microscale particles with high horizontal-to-vertical aspect ratios become attractive building blocks for shape-directed…
Mechanical metamaterials are periodic lattice structures with complex unit cell architectures that can achieve extraordinary mechanical properties beyond the capability of bulk materials. A new class of metamaterials is proposed, whose…
Nucleation phenomena commonly observed in our every day life are of fundamental, technological and societal importance in many areas, but some of their most intimate mechanisms remain however to be unravelled. Crystal nucleation, the early…
Surfactants play an important role in determining the cleaning performance and stability of detergents. However, the design of new surfactants using traditional methods is often time-consuming, complex, and largely based on trial and error.…
Experimental investigations of hydrophobic/water interfaces often return controversial results, possibly due to the unknown role of gas accumulation at the interfaces. Here, during advanced atomic force microscopy of the initial evolution…
The inverse design of metasurfaces faces inherent challenges due to the nonlinear and highly complex relationship between geometric configurations and their electromagnetic behavior. Traditional optimization approaches often suffer from…
Metamaterials exhibit materials response deviation from conventional elasticity. This phenomenon is captured by the generalized elasticity as a result of extending the theory at the expense of introducing additional parameters. These…
Amorphous interfacial complexions have been shown to restrict grain growth and improve damage tolerance in nanocrystalline alloys, with increased chemical complexity stabilizing the complexions themselves. Here, we investigate local…
We use molecular dynamics to show that plastic slip is a crucial component of the transformation mechanism of a square-to-triangular structural transition. The latter is a stylized analog of many other reconstructive phase transitions. To…
Materials with nanoscale phase separation are considered. These materials are formed by a mixture of several phases, so that inside one phase there exist nanosize inclusions of other phases, with random shapes and random spatial locations.…