Related papers: Interdigitation between surface-anchored polymer c…
Understanding the adhesion between graphene and other materials is crucial for achieving more reliable graphene-based applications in electronic devices and nanocomposites. The ultra-thin profile of graphene, however, poses significant…
We consider a model of bilayer lipid membrane with interdigitation, in which the lipid tails of the opposite monolayers interpenetrate. The interdigitation is modeled by linking tails of the hydrophobic chains in the opposite monolayers…
It has recently been proposed that the miscibility of nanoparticles with a polymer matrix can be controlled by grafting polymer chains to the nanoparticle surface. As a first step to study this situation, we have used molecular dynamics…
We study theoretically situations where competition arises between an interdiffusion process and a cross-linking chemical reaction at interfaces between pieces of the same polymer material. An example of such a situation is observable in…
The anchoring of nematic liquid crystals on surfaces with grafted liquid crystalline chain molecules is studied by computer simulations and within a mean field approach. The computer simulations show that a swollen layer of collectively…
We demonstrate that graphs embedded on surfaces are a powerful and practical tool to generate, characterize and simulate networks with a broad range of properties. Remarkably, the study of topologically embedded graphs is non-restrictive…
A polymer chain tethered to a surface may be compact or extended, adsorbed or desorbed, depending on interactions with the surface and the surrounding solvent. This leads to a rich phase diagram with a variety of transitions. To investigate…
In this paper, we present a qualitative analysis of the dissipative processes during the failure of the interface between a viscoelastic polymer and a solid surface. We reassess the "viscoelastic trumpet" model [P.-G. de Gennes, C. R. Acad.…
Polymer chains decorated with a fraction of monomers capable of forming reversible bonds form transient polymer networks that are important in soft and biological systems. If chains are flexible and the attractive monomers are all of the…
Biomimetic membranes in contact with a planar substrate or a second membrane are studied theoretically. The membranes contain specific adhesion molecules (stickers) which are attracted by the second surface. In the absence of stickers, the…
We study the mechanics of a reversible decohesion (unzipping) of an elastic layer subjected to quasi-static end-point loading. At the micro level the system is simulated by an elastic chain of particles interacting with a rigid foundation…
Taking into account the well known correspondence between the field theoretical O(n)-vector model in the limit $n\to 0$ and the behavior of long-flexible polymer chains in a good solvent the investigation of ideal polymer chains adsorption…
We present single contact friction experiments between a glassy polymer and smooth silica substrates grafted with alkylsilane layers of different coverage densities and morphologies. This allows us to adjust the polymer/substrate…
We analyze the interaction of two conducting, charged polymer chains in solution using a minimal model for their electronic degrees of freedom. We show that a crossing of the two chains in which the polymers pass within Angstroms of each…
We study the influence of surface roughness on the adhesion of elastic solids. Most real surfaces have roughness on many different length scales, and this fact is taken into account in our analysis. We consider in detail the case when the…
As a fundamental force, friction exerts a profound influence on various aspects of our daily lives across multiple disciplines. To understand why adhesive friction is associated with the contact area, here we investigate the generic sliding…
We present a theoretical framework for the linear and nonlinear visco-elastic properties of reversibly crosslinked networks of semiflexible polymers. In contrast to affine models where network strain couples to the polymer end-to-end…
We have employed a numerical procedure to analyze the adhesive contact between a soft elastic layer and a rough rigid substrate. The solution of the problem is obtained by calculating the Green's function which links the pressure…
We compare the thermodynamic behavior of a finite single nongrafted polymer near an attractive substrate with that of a polymer grafted to that substrate. After we recently found first-order-like signatures in the microcanonical entropy at…
Cellularized tissue and polymer networks can both transition from floppy to rigid as a function of their control parameters, and, yet, the two systems often mechanically interact, which may affect their respective rigidities. To study this…